The UFC is back at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for this weekend’s fight card, UFC Vegas 104, which takes place on Saturday, March 15 at the UFC Apex. In the main event of the UFC Fight Night card, middleweights Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze run back their 2023 matchup. Vettori won that bout via unanimous decision. Chidi Njokuani and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos meet in a welterweight contest in the co-main event. Below, we look at the betting odds for the Vettori vs. Dolidze 2 fight and offer our preview, picks, and predictions for the bout.
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event Preview: Marvin Vettori Vs. Roman Dolidze 2
Marvin Vettori (19-7-1) returns to the UFC Octagon for the first time since he dropped a unanimous decision to Jared Cannonier in June 2023. That fight followed his March 2023 decision win over Roman Dolidze. An injury knocked Vettori out of a scheduled April 2024 matchup against Brendan Allen. Vettori enters UFC Vegas 104 as the No. 8 ranked fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings.
Vettori opened his UFC career in 2016. He went 2-2-1 in his first five fights with the promotion. Following a split decision loss to future UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in April 2018, Vettori put together a five-fight unbeaten streak. That run earned him a rematch against Adesanya, who by then held the UFC’s 185-pound belt. Adesanya won that contest via decision.
Vettori is 2-2 since his loss to Adesanya.
Roman Dolidze (14-3) enters UFC Vegas 104 as the No. 11 UFC middleweight.Dolidze joined the promotion in July 2020 going 2-1 in his first three outings with the UFC. Dolidze followed a March 2021 decision loss to Trevin Giles with a four-fight winning streak. That run ended with his loss to Vettori. A majority decision setback to Nassourdine Imavov followed.
Dolidze followed that lackluster performance with a decision win over Anthony Smith at UFC 303. In his most recent trip to the cage, Dolidze scored a TKO win over Kevin Holland in a bout where Holland could not continue because of broken ribs.
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event Preview: Vettori Vs. Dolidze 1
The first matchup between these two middleweights was a fairly evenly matched striking battle. The difference in the fight came down to activity and output. Vettori attempted 218 significant strikes and landed 106 for a success rate of 48 percent. Meanwhile, Dolidze threw 192 significant strikes and connected 71 times for a landing rate of 36 percent. Vettori might not have thrown with his opponent’s power, but he used effective combinations, while Dolidze relied more on single power strikes.
Vettori also did a good job mixing up his techniques and targets, landing 38 leg strikes, eight body strikes, and 60 head strikes. Dolidze spent most of the fight headhunting, with 52 of his significant strikes landing upstairs on Vettori.
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event Preview: Vettori Vs. Dolidze 2 Betting Odds
When the betting odds opened for the rematch between these two, Vettori was the -200 betting favorite over the +170 Dolidze. Today, Vettori is the -148 betting favorite and Dolidze is listed at +128 according to BetOnline.
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event: Vettori Vs. Dolidze – Tale of the Tape
Marvin Vettori
Record: 19-7-1 with nine submissions and two knockouts
Age: 31
Height: 6’0″
Reach: 74″
Stance: Southpaw
Roman Dolidze
Record: 14-3 with three submissions and eight knockouts
Age: 36
Height: 6’2″
Reach: 76″
Stance: Orthodox
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event: Vettori Vs. Dolidze 2 Fighter Stats
Marvin Vettori
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.56
Significant Striking Accuracy: 45 percent
Significant Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 4.24
Striking Defense: 56 percent
Takedowns Per 15 Minutes: 1.66
Takedown Accuracy: 45 percent
Takedown Defense: 69 percent
Roman Dolidze
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.16
Significant Striking Accuracy: 42 percent
Significant Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.38
Striking Defense: 50 percent
Takedowns Per 15 Minutes: 1.33
Takedown Accuracy: 42 percent
Takedown defense: 33 percent
*Via UFCStats
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event: Vettori Vs. Dolidze 2 Predictions And Picks
Roman Dolidze is the better all-around fighter in this contest. The problem with Dolidze is that he doesn’t use his full skill set inside the Octagon. Instead of employing his grappling skills, he seems most interested in getting in slugfests. While fans might not mind that style, Dolidze employs that approach to the detriment of his career.
With that being said, Dolidze has been far more active than Vettori, and he has shown the ability to pick up his output and accuracy while mixing up his targets and techniques. With that, the betting pick is that Dolidze will beat Vettori at UFC Vegas 104 via decision.
UFC Vegas 104 Full Fight Card Betting Odds
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event: Marvin Vettori On Roman Dolidze
“I smashed my shoulder. It popped out and destroyed my rotator cuff, my labrum, and even my bicep,” Vettori said (Via MMA Mania). “It was a heavy surgery, you know. A lot of tendons were torn and messed up. Tendons take a while to heal.”
“It’s good to be back,” Vettori added. “After my last fight, I thought I needed some time off, so I switched gyms [from Xtreme Couture] and joined American Top Team. I started training for another fight, but then I got injured…this injury took me basically a year. I thought I could recover in three months with P.T. [physical therapy], but I actually made it worse and ended up needing surgery in June. I got injured [last] March, and I’m finally coming back now.”
UFC Vegas 104 Main Event: Roman Dolidze On Marvin Vettori
“He hasn’t fought in a long time,” Dolidze said (via MMA Junkie). “Everybody says maybe it’s bad for him, he hasn’t fought in so long. But I never think about the fights from this point of view. I just understand that we are all changing, evolving. Maybe he has time to change something in his game.
“But anyway, I still think this fight can be the same, how he was working and what he was doing with me. Because I have power. He knows. Everybody knows I’m powerful. Everybody knows my ground game and grappling. That’s why it’s always hard to find keys with me. But I still think that I need to be more calm and control my anger, and that’s the key to win this fight.”
UFC Vegas 104 Fight Card Date
Saturday, March 15, 2025
UFC Vegas 104 Fight Card Location
UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV
UFC Vegas 104 Fight Card How to Watch Or Stream
Full fight card streams on ESPN+
UFC Vegas 104 Fight Card Time
Prelims: 4:00 p.m. ET
Main Card: 7:00 p.m. ET
We will have more on the Vettori vs. Dolidze 2 fight as fight night approaches, as well as results, reactions, and more on fight night.