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