Roman Dolidze Shifts Focus from Robert Whittaker to Israel Adesanya

Roman Dolidze prefers Israel Adesanya over Robert Whittaker as a potential opponent.

Dolidze scored a unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori in the UFC Vegas 104 headliner earlier this month. “The Caucasian” subsequently called out Whittaker, who has since turned down the matchup, saying he has nothing to gain from it. “Bobby Knuckles” also called the bout between Dolidze and Vettori a bar fight.

Dolidze believes Whittaker isn’t in a position to talk in that manner while noting that the former champion has been finished multiple times in his career.

“This is a talking guy who got knocked out a couple of times and he got destroyed in his last fight… You’re speaking too loud,” Dolidze told Home of Fight. “You need to prove that you’re so tough… Too loud for him to speak like that. We already saw what he is capable to do and how many times he was stopped, he tapped.”

Considering Whittaker’s reluctance to accept a fight against him, Dolidze is excited by the idea of a potential clash against Adesanya. While Adesanya is also on a steep decline, Dolidze believes “The Last Stylebender” has already done enough to cement his legacy.

“[Adesanya] was more dominant at 185 [pounds],” Dolidze said. “He was beating everybody, including Whittaker. He’s a great fighter. No matter what stage in his career he is now, but we need to respect what he have done. And I like this matchup much more than Whittaker. But let’s see what UFC have prepared for me. And as always, I am always ready for anything and anybody, just give me the name.”

Dolidze extended his winning streak to three with his win over Vettori. Meanwhile, Whittaker is 2-2 in his last four and coming off a submission loss against Khamzat Chimaev. Adesanya lost the middleweight title to Sean Strickland in 2023 and has since been submitted by Dricus Du Plessis and knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov.