Roman Dolidze Outpaces Marvin Vettori in Five-Round Rematch Atop UFC Vegas 104

Roman Dolidze evened the score.

The Xtreme Couture standout avenged a March 2023 defeat and made his most significant move yet in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, as he willed his way to a five-round unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori in the UFC Fight Night 254 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 49-46 for Dolidze (15-3, 9-3 UFC).

Vettori (19-8-1, 9-6-1 UFC) landed his share of shots—he wobbled the Georgian with a counter left hand over the top in the third round and flurried for a potential stoppage—but seemed to struggle to match his opponent’s output, especially in the back half of the fight. Already ahead on the scorecards, Dolidze turned up the heat in Round 5, where he connected with several clubbing right hands, a few body kicks and a collar-tie knee. He then cut off Vettori’s forward progress with a series of head kicks and crossed the finish line with room to spare.

Meanwhile, ex-Tachi Palace Fights champion Chidi Njokuani weathered a failed weight cut—he missed the mark by 1.25 pounds—and dismissed Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos with a knee strike and follow-up elbows in the second round of their welterweight co-main event. Zaleski dos Santos (25-9-1, 11-5-1 UFC) met his end 2:19 into Round 2.

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Njokuani (25-10, 5-3 UFC) tipped his spear with crushing front kicks to the body and occasional jabs. Zaleski dos Santos dazed him with a right hook in the first round but failed to pair it with anything meaningful and ultimately let his counterpart off the hook. Njokuani picked up his intensity in the middle stanza. There, he snatched a collar tie in the middle of an exchange and decked Zaleski dos Santos with a perfectly placed knee. Njokuani gave chase, set up in a kneeling position above the CM System mainstay and tied a bow on his latest performance with a burst of unanswered elbows.

The 36-year-old Njokuani now finds himself on a three-fight winning streak.

Further down the main card, Factory X standout Alexander Hernandez called upon repeated takedowns and positional control ahead of a unanimous decision over former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder Kurt Holobaugh in their three-round lightweight showcase. All three members of the assigned judiciary sided with Hernandez (16-8, 8-7 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Holobaugh (21-9, 2-6 UFC) outhustled “The Great Ape” in a few standup exchanges, leaving visible damage around his eyes and blood trickling from his nose. Hernandez answered with momentum-sapping takedowns, flirted with arm-triangle chokes on more than one occasion and kept the Denham Springs, Louisiana, native pinned to the canvas for considerable chunks of time. It was enough to keep his head above water.

Hernandez, 32, has posted back-to-back victories in almost seven years.

Elsewhere, Kill Cliff Fight Club export Da’Mon Blackshear dispatched “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 31 finalist Cody Gibson with a kimura in the second round of their bantamweight feature. Blackshear (16-7-1, 4-3-1 UFC) slammed the door shut 4:09 into Round 2.

Gibson (21-11, 3-6 UFC) had the onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder in a state of retreat for much of the first round, as he overwhelmed him with pressure and body-head punching combinations. Blackshear conceded a takedown inside the first 90 seconds of the middle stanza but soon sprang the reversal and settled in side control. He hacked away with elbows from top position, progressed to a mounted crucifix, isolated Gibson’s right arm and sealed the deal.

Though Blackshear now has 11 submission wins to his credit, this was his first via kimura.

Not to be overshadowed, ex-Shooto Brazil titleholder Brendson Ribeiro put away the previously unbeaten Diyar Nurgozhay with a kimura in the second round of their light heavyweight attraction. Nurgozhay (10-1, 0-1 UFC), who missed weight for the match by a whopping 4.5 pounds, raised the white flag of surrender 1:28 into Round 2.

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Ribeiro (17-7, 2-2 UFC) landed virtually all the consequential blows and even dropped the Tobet Top Team product with a sharp one-two in the first round. Nurghozay completed a takedown early in the middle stanza but played too loosely in the Brazilian’s guard. Ribeiro framed the kimura, swept into top position, maximized the torque and prompted the tapout.

It was the first submission victory for Ribeiro since August 2021.

Finally, former three-division Samurai Fight House champion Kevin Vallejos shined in his promotional debut, as he buried Seung Woo Choi with punches in the first round of their featherweight appetizer. Choi (11-8, 4-7 UFC) succumbed to blows 3:09 into Round 1.

Vallejos (15-1, 1-0 UFC) was poised and patient in his first appearance under the bright lights. He eased into the match behind leg kicks and thudding body-head combinations. The 23-year-old Argentinian prospect floored Choi with a looping right hook on the counter and forced him into a defensive shell on all fours at the base of the cage. From there, Vallejos cut loose with rapid-fire punches until referee Kerry Hatley had seen enough.

Choi has lost five of his last six fights.

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