Roman Dolidze | |
---|---|
Born | Batumi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union | 15 July 1988
Nickname | The Caucasian |
Nationality | Georgian |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
Division | Heavyweight (2016) Light Heavyweight (2017–2020) Middleweight (2021–present) |
Reach | 76 in (193 cm) [1] |
Stance | Orthodox |
Fighting out of | Batumi, Georgia |
Team | American Kickboxing Academy Xtreme Couture MMA |
Years active | 2016–present |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 15 |
Wins | 12 |
By knockout | 7 |
By submission | 3 |
By decision | 2 |
Losses | 3 |
By decision | 3 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Roman Dolidze (born 15 July 1988) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). [2] A professional competitor since 2016, Dolidze was the former World Warriors Fight Championship (WWFC) light heavyweight champion, [3] ADCC Asia & Oceania champion, and Grappling FILA world champion. As of 20 February 2024, he is #9 in the UFC middleweight rankings. [4]
Dolidze was born on 15 July 1988, in Batumi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (now Georgia). Dolidze played soccer for eight years, the last three years of which spent as a professional goalkeeper in Turkey. [5] At the age of 20, he moved to Ukraine to study shipbuilding engineering at Odesa Maritime Academy, and started training in sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and eventually grappling. [5] He then also earned a degree in business administration. [5] He went on to become the World Grappling Champion and the European Grappling Champion under United World Wrestling rules, as well as becoming the ADCC Asia & Oceania Champion at 99 kg (218 pounds) in 2016. This earned him a spot in the prestigious ADCC Worlds Tournament in 2017, however he was defeated in the first round. Aged 28, he started to train in MMA. [6]
Dolidze made his MMA debut in 2016, where he was fighting out of Odesa, Ukraine. After winning his debut fight against Alexander Kovbel, Dolidze would go on to amass a 4–0 record in the Ukrainian circuit, before being given the chance to fight Eder de Souza for the vacant WWFC Light Heavyweight title. He beat de Souza by a second-round knockout. [7] He was scheduled to defend his title against Michał Pasternak at WWFC 13. [8] Dolidze beat Pasternak by a third-round knockout. [9]
Dolidze got signed to the UFC but before he made his debut, he tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolites M1 and M2, as well as a long-term metabolite of dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), 4-chloro-18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl,17α-methyl-5α-androst-13-en-3α-ol (M3), as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample collected on 12 March 2019. He was suspended for one year due to this violation and he was eligible to fight on 12 March 2020. [10]
On 3 September 2020, Dolidze along with Ryan Benoit, were granted temporary licenses following special hearings by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after they had recurring issues with the long-term metabolite of Turinabol pulsing in their system in trace amounts, long after ingestion. [11] Both Benoit and Dolidze have already been suspended by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the UFC's anti-doping partner. Neither were facing a violation in Nevada, but the UFC wanted to get ahead of a potential issue. This was after USADA added a threshold for the presence of the M3 metabolite of DHCMT. If a test result is below 100 picograms per milliliter of the substance, it is no longer considered a violation, but an atypical finding, providing there is no evidence of new ingestion or performance-enhancing effects. Benoit and Dolidze were granted temporary licenses to compete beginning Dec. 1 following a six-month period of bimonthly testing by USADA.
A bout between Khadis Ibragimov and Roman Dolidze was initially scheduled for the promotion's inaugural event in Kazakhstan planned a month prior. [12] However, the fight was postponed after the card was moved to Las Vegas due to travel restrictions for both participants related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was left intact and eventually took place on 19 July 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2. [13] Dolidze won the fight via technical knockout in round one after in process of high kick, Ibragimov tried to go for a takedown, during which Dolidze hit him with a knee, knocking Ibragimov out. [14]
Dolidze faced John Allan at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori on 5 December 2020. [15] He won the bout via split decision; however 19 out of 19 media members scored it a 30–27 for Dolidze. [16] [17]
Dolidze, as a replacement for Dricus du Plessis, faced Trevin Giles in his middleweight debut on 20 March 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21 [18] He lost the close bout via unanimous decision. [19]
Dolidze was scheduled to face Alessio Di Chirico on 5 June 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. [20] However, Di Chirico pulled out of the contest in mid-May due to an injury. [21] Di Chirico was replaced by Laureano Staropoli. [22] In a lackluster fight where Dolidze mostly held Staropoli in the clinch, he won the fight via unanimous decision. [23] [24]
Dolidze was scheduled to face Eryk Anders on 13 November 2021, at UFC Fight Night 197. [25] However, Anders was pulled the event for undisclosed reasons, [26] and he was replaced by Kyle Daukaus. [27] In turn, the bout was scrapped due to COVID-19 protocols related to Dolidze’s camp. [28]
Dolidze was scheduled to face Brendan Allen, replacing Brad Tavares on 4 December 2021, at UFC on ESPN 31. [29] However, Dolidze was forced to pull from the bout due to complications in his recovery from COVID-19 and he was replaced by Chris Curtis. [30]
Dolidze was rescheduled to face Kyle Daukaus on 18 June 2022, at UFC on ESPN 37. [31] He won the bout via knockout in round one. [32] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. [33]
Dolidze faced Phil Hawes on 29 October 2022, at UFC Fight Night 213. [34] He won the fight via knockout in round one. [35]
Dolidze, replacing undisclosed injury Derek Brunson, faced Jack Hermansson on 3 December 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42. [36] He won the bout via ground and pound TKO in the second round. [37]
Dolidze faced Marvin Vettori on 18 March 2023, at UFC 286. [38] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. [39]
Dolidze was scheduled to face Derek Brunson at UFC 295 on 11 November 2023. [40] However, Brunson announced on 14 September that he was parting ways with the organization, and the bout was scrapped. [41]
Dolidze was scheduled to face Jared Cannonier on 2 December 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52. [42] However, Cannonier suffered an MCL tear in October during training and the bout was scrapped. [43]
Dolidze faced Nassourdine Imavov on February 3, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 235 in his first UFC main event. [44] He lost the bout by majority decision. [45]
15 matches | 12 wins | 3 losses |
By knockout | 7 | 0 |
By submission | 3 | 0 |
By decision | 2 | 3 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 12–3 | Nassourdine Imavov | Decision (majority) | UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov | February 3, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Imavov was deducted one point in round 4 due to an illegal soccer kick. |
Loss | 12–2 | Marvin Vettori | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 286 | March 18, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
Win | 12–1 | Jack Hermansson | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Thompson vs. Holland | December 3, 2022 | 2 | 4:06 | Orlando, Florida, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 11–1 | Phil Hawes | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen | October 29, 2022 | 1 | 4:09 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 10–1 | Kyle Daukaus | KO (knee and punches) | UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett | June 18, 2022 | 1 | 1:13 | Austin, Texas, United States | Performance of the Night. |
Win | 9–1 | Laureano Staropoli | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai | June 5, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Loss | 8–1 | Trevin Giles | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland | March 20, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Middleweight debut. |
Win | 8–0 | John Allan | Decision (split) | UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori | December 5, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 7–0 | Khadis Ibragimov | TKO (knee and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 | July 19, 2020 | 1 | 4:15 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
Win | 6–0 | Michał Pasternak | KO (punch) | WWFC 13 | December 18, 2018 | 3 | 3:00 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Defended the WWFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 5–0 | Eder de Souza | KO (punch) | WWFC 11 | June 16, 2018 | 2 | 3:36 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Won the vacant WWFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 4–0 | Amirali Zhoroev | TKO (punches) | WWFC 9 | December 14, 2017 | 1 | 3:34 | Kyiv, Ukraine | |
Win | 3–0 | Ilyas Abdulaev | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WWFC 7 | June 14, 2017 | 1 | 1:21 | Kyiv, Ukraine | |
Win | 2–0 | Rémi Delcampe | Submission (heel hook) | WWFC 6 | March 29, 2017 | 1 | 0:56 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Light Heavyweight debut. |
Win | 1–0 | Alexander Kovbel | Submission (heel hook) | RFP 53: West Fight 23 | December 9, 2016 | 1 | 0:42 | Odesa, Ukraine | Heavyweight debut. |
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