UFC Fight Night 254: Vettori vs. Dolidze 2 Tips
Top 15-ranked Middleweights meet this weekend at the UFC Apex as Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze face each other for a second time.
The pair squared off two years ago, with Vettori winning a unanimous decision on the main card of UFC 286 in London.
Meanwhile two veterans meet in the co-main event as Elizeu Zaleski takes on Chidi Njokuani.
Tip 1 – Marvin Vettori to Win & Over 2.5 Rounds @ 10/13
Both Marvin Vettori (19-6-1) and Roman Dolidze (14-3-0) come into this as nearly men of the UFC Middleweight division looking to build some momentum towards another shot at the top five of the division.
Vettori retains a top-10 ranking in the 185lb division despite not competing since his unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier in June 2023.
The 31-year-old is 2-3 in his last five with wins over Dolidze and Paulo Costa, with his other defeats coming against Robert Whittaker and in title class to Israel Adesanya.
A pursuit of new training experiences was the American’s initial reasoning for a break from the sport before a “freak” training injury sidelined him from making a return in the second half of 2024.
Three months before his last fight saw the win over Dolidze, with the census score of 2-1 in rounds with Vettori coming on strong after a good first round for the Georgian.
Dolidze has remained active and is 2-1 since the Vettori fight, winning his last two against Kevin Holland (TKO, R1) and Anthony Smith (UD), with the latter a short notice flutter at Light Heavyweight.
The 36-year-old’s defeat in this run was a majority decision defeat to now number one contender Nassourdine Imavov, his only five-round contest to date in the UFC.
Vettori is no stranger to the full 25 minutes, having previously fought five times and holding a 3-2 record, with all going the distance.
Both men are incredibly durable and have never been stopped. However, Vettori is the pick here to get the win using his championship-round experience.
Tip 2 - Elizeu Zaleski vs Chidi Njokuani - Over 1.5 rounds @ 4/9
This intriguing co-main event sees Elizeu Zaleski (25-8-1) and Chidi Njokuani (24-10-0) face off in the Welterweight division.
Zaleski was last seen defeating debutant Zach Scroggin in the first round last November, bouncing back from a unanimous decision defeat to Randy Brown earlier in the year.
A Welterweight with wins over the likes of Sean Strickland and Benoit Saint-Denis, the now 38-year-old also had a draw with so far unbeaten 5-0 prospect Rinat Fakhretdinov in November 2023.
Njokuani is on a two-fight win streak at 170lbs, defeating both Jared Gooden and Rhys McKee since moving down from Middleweight.
A three-fight losing streak prompted the change in division with defeats to Michał Oleksiejczuk (R1 TKO), Albert Duraev (Dec) and Gregory Rodrigues (R2 TKO).
Overall, the now 36-year-old is 4-3 in with his opening UFC bouts both first-round finishes of Marc-André Barriault and Duško Todorović.
This power doesn’t look to have carried down to 170lbs and with both men having similar striking outputs, Zaleski dos Santos’ grappling may play an important role.
This could be a close fight and picking over 1.5 rounds provides some good value in a contest where neither fighter is in their prime.
Tip 3 - Ryan Spann to Win - 7/5
There aren’t many potential underdog picks on this card but Ryan Spann (22-10-0) could be one to watch against Waldo Cortes-Acosta (12-1-0).
Spann moves up from Light Heavyweight to take this fight after submitting Ovince St. Preux by guillotine choke in the first round at UFC 307 last October.
That snapped a three-fight skid for the American after losing to Bogdan Guskov (R2 TKO), Anthony Smith (UD) and Nikita Krylov (R2 Sub).
Spann is 8-5 in the UFC and has impressive first-round stoppage wins over Dominick Reyes and Ion Cutelaba on his resume.
Cortes-Acosta is 5-1 in the UFC and rides a three-fight win streak in a rather shallow heavyweight division.
This run has seen the 33-year-old outwrestle kickboxer Robelis Despaigne last May, defeat a 44-year-old Andrei Arlovski last January and TKO now 1-5 Lukasz Brzeski in 2023.
Spann’s teammate Kennedy Nzechukwu has recently made a successful 2-0 transition to Heavyweight with two first-round finishes and the American brings a similar build, speed and athleticism to his new division.
Granted, Cortes-Acosta may well provide a tough debut opponent but to sit with a number 12 ranking shows the lack of depth in this division and, with the right gameplan, Spann could well make a winning Heavyweight debut.
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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change