Roman Dolidze 'being realistic' with Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker callouts after UFC Fight Night 254
LAS VEGAS – Roman Dolidze has set his sights on a pair of former champions after emerging from the UFC Fight Night 254 main event with his hand raised.
Dolidze (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) avenged a key career loss on Saturday when he outworked Marvin Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) to a unanimous decision in their middleweight rematch at the UFC Apex. In the octagon, the Georgian said he is looking for a top five fight next, and called out ex-titleholders Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
After taking some time to digest the result, Dolidze went backstage to speak to reporters and doubled down on the callouts, explaining that he feels both matchups are logical given the state of the 185-pound division.
'Why not? All these guys need opponents,' Dolidze told MMA Junkie and other media members. 'They need to find somebody. They need to have some opponent. I don't care if it will be somebody else from top five, I'm also ready. I don't really care much. But I said more realistic fights because both of them lost. That's why I said I don't really care who it will be from the top five.
'(I'm) being realistic of who is ready and who needs opponent. There are some guys who really deserve to fight for title, like Caio (Borralho), like (Nassourdine) Imavov, also. There are a couple guys – good guys, and they are waiting and in line. If they will give me these guys, I'm ready. But there are most realistic fights and that's why I said those names.'
Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) is currently sitting on a three-fight losing skid with defeats to Sean Strickland, Dricus Du Plessis and most recently, a second-round knockout vs. Imavov in February. Whittaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC), meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from a 2024 Submission of the Year loss to Khamzat Chimaev in October.
Either fight coming to fruition would be a massive opportunity for Dolidze to put a signature win on his resume, but if he was given a choice, thinks Adesanya brings more value to his resume.
'Both of these guys have good names,' Dolidze said. 'More important for me is the name. Of course Adesanya was more on the top and it would be better for me as a name to fight Adesanya, but Whittaker also was champion. He's very good fighter. It's not about personality or something. It's all about name and quality of opponent. Adesanya will of course be better if we are talking about the more loud name.'
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 254.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
UFC Atlanta: Usman Vs. Buckley Full Fight Card Opening Betting Odds
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Joaquin Buckley reacts after his knockout victory against Stephen ... More Thompson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) The next fight card on the UFC schedule, UFC Atlanta, takes place on Saturday, June 14 from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The UFC Fight Night event is headlined by a welterweight tilt between former UFC 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman and rising contender Joaquin Buckley. The UFC Atlanta main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+. Below, we look at the opening betting odds for the entire UFC Atlanta fight card. Kamaru Usman (-170) vs. Joaquin Buckley (+140) - Welterweight Rose Namajunas (-205) vs. Miranda Maverick (+205) - Women's Flyweight Cody Garbrandt (+135) vs. Raoni Barcelos (-155) - Bantamweight Mansur Abdul-Malik (-750) vs. Cody Brundage (+550) - Middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan (-240) vs. Andre Petroski (+205) - Middleweight Alonzo Menifield (+320) vs. Oumar Sy (-400) - Light Heavyweight Paul Craig (+285) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (-350) - Light Heavyweight Michael Chiesa (-500) vs. Court McGee (+300) - Welterweight Malcolm Wellmaker (-1300) vs. Kris Moutinho (+775) - Bantamweight Cody Durden (-180) vs. Jose Ochoa (+155) - Flyweight Ricky Simón (-350) vs. Cameron Smotherman (+285) - Bantamweight Phil Rowe (-135) vs. Ange Loosa (+115) - Welterweight Jamey-Lyn Horth (-350) vs. Vanessa Demopoulos (+285) - Women's Flyweight *Odds via BetOnline ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Kamaru Usman of Nigeria reacts after a decision loss ... More against Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates in a middleweight fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Kamaru Usman (20-4) , the former UFC welterweight champion, enters UFC Atlanta on a three-fight losing skid. The 38-year-old last fought in October 2023, when he dropped a split decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight matchup. Usman lost his 170-pound crown to Edwards via a head-kick knockout at UFC 278 in August 2022. He dropped the rematch at UFC 286 in March of 2023 via a majority decision. Before his loss, Usman had defended the title five times. Usman is the No. 5 ranked fighter in the UFC's welterweight weight class. He has a career record of 20-3. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 05: Joaquin Buckley reacts after his knockout victory against Stephen ... More Thompson in a welterweight fight during the UFC 307 event at Delta Center on October 05, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Joaquin Buckley (21-6) is the No. 7 fighter in the UFC's 170-pound weight class. The 31-year-old Buckley is one quite a run since dropping to welterweight in 2023. Buckley is 6-0 during his current welterweight run with four knockouts and two decision wins. He fought four times in 2024, picking up a knockout win over Vicente Luque, a decision victory over Nursulton Ruziboev, a knockout over two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson. Buckley finished the year with a doctor stoppage TKO win over former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington in December. Saturday, June 14, 2025 State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia Main Card: 10:00 p.m. ET Preliminary Card: 7:00 p.m. ET The lowest priced tickets for the UFC Atlanta fight card (non-resale) are listed at $198.55 (Upper Bowl). Meanwhile, the most expensive seats are $3,906.45 (Row A - Official Platinum). Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and prices include all fees, but not taxes. We will have more on the UFC Atlanta fight card as fight night nears, including picks, predictions and more. As well as full fight card results, reactions and highlights on fight night.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Merab Dvalishvili Open to Super Fight With Fellow UFC Champion
Merab Dvalishvili Open to Super Fight With Fellow UFC Champion originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Merab Dvalishvili successfully defended the bantamweight title for the second time on Saturday night. Advertisement It was a rematch against former champion Sean O'Malley, but Dvalishvili proved he's still improving. The Georgian did well mixing up his attacks, landing punches during wild exchanges with O'Malley, however it was once again his relentless work rate that wore out his opponent. He submitted a tired 'Suga' at the end of the third round with a nasty choke, earning his second career finish inside of the octagon and first since 2021 against Marlon Moraes. Dvalishvili is likely to take on No. four ranked Cory Sandhagen later this year. If he wins, it would be his 14th straight victory, putting him in rare air with Jon Jones (19), Anderson Silva (16), Islam Makhachev (15), and Kamaru Usman (15). Today he was asked by combat sports reporter Ariel Helwani about a potential super fight with UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja and is on board with the potential bout. 'Yes, if he will move up in my weight class and if the UFC is interested in that, no problem,' Dvalishvili said. 'I'm sure a lot of people will be interested in this fight. I respect Pantoja. He will be a tough opponent for me. If Pantoja wants this and if the UFC wants this, I have no problem with that." Advertisement Pantoja has cleaned out the flyweight division in a similar way to Dvalishvili as the Brazilian has won seven in a row. He's scheduled to take on Kai Kara-France later this month at UFC 317, but with another defense, it could be time for him to try becoming a champion in two weight classes. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
UFC Make Major Merab Dvalishvili Announcement on Tuesday
UFC Make Major Merab Dvalishvili Announcement on Tuesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (21-4) retained his belt for the second time by defeating No. 1 contender Sean O'Malley (18-4) via submission at UFC 316 in the third round of their fight on Saturday. Advertisement Following his 13th straight victory and second by submission, Dvalishvili, 34, has been moved into second place on the UFC pound-for-pound rankings on Tuesday, behind Islam Makhachev in first. The decision moves heavyweight champion Jon Jones to three and former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria down to four. Dvalishvili is regarded as one of the promotion's top talents due to his excellent grappling and striking. During his rise to the top of 135 pounds, he defeated division all-time greats in Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo. Dvalishvili captured the bantamweight title by defeating O'Malley via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 306 on Sept. 14, 2024. Before taking on O'Malley for a second time, he defeated Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 to retain his belt. Advertisement The only challenger above him on the pound-for-pound rankings is Makhachev, who relinquished the lightweight championship on May 13 to move up to welterweight. The 33-year-old holds a 27-1 record and has won 15 straight. Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia (gold gloves) talks with Joe Rogan after he defeated Sean O'Malley© Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Makhachev has won 13 of his professional fights by way of submission. These triumphs include ones over fan favorites and lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira. At some point, he is expected to challenge newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, but the fight has yet to be announced. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili could defend his belt against bantamweight contenders like Yan or Cory Sandhagen sometime later this year. Advertisement Related: Merab Dvalishvili Open to Super Fight With Fellow UFC Champion This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
