UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov

Prediction, Odds & Betting Tips for UFC Fight Night Dolidze vs. Imavov

Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada
When: February 4, Sunday, 11:00 AM

Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov takes place right after the UFC 297. These two guys are in the mix for moving up in the middleweight division, which now has a new champ following Du Plessis’ win over Strickland. A win here would cement their place as one of the possible title-eliminator contenders, opening the door to another main event.

UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov Preview

Roman Dolidze

Dolidze is coming off a decision loss against Marvin Vettori. Previously, he had four victories in a row, three of them via knockout. So far, the Georgian has had 12 wins and only two defeats in his professional career. The other loss was against Trevin Giles in March 2021.

When talking about his primary strengths, grappling is the biggest one because Dolidze came to the UFC as one of the best grapplers in the world, that is, as a champion at the 2016 World Championship. His method of winning suggests that he doesn’t avoid battling in stand-up either. Overall, he has seven KO victories up to this point.

Dolidze is a very powerful guy, and he used to compete in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions before coming down to the middleweight division in 2021. It seems that he needed some experience against Vettori because, when looking at the overall history, apart from Hermansson, he didn’t have a high-class opponent.

Nassourdine Imavov

Things have been tough for Imavov lately. After losing to Sean Strickland via decision, his contest against Chris Curtis was stopped and declared a no-contest after an accidental clash of heads. It’s not a very good development for a guy who wants to break into the division’s top 10.

He, too, is a solid grappler and wrestler but prefers to take his actions on his feet. In 17 octagon appearances, Imavov recorded 12 victories and four losses, with one no-contest. The method of his wins is very diverse, collecting five via knockout, four by submission, and three triumphs after a decision.

Before meeting with Strickland, Imavov defeated Ian Heinish, Edmen Shabatyan, and Joaquin Buckley, the first two via KO. When fighting Strickland (it was a light heavyweight meeting), Imavov was solid and had his moments, but he, too, didn’t know how to behave in certain situations, which is also a reflection of inexperience in big-time battles.

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UFC Fight Night: Dolidze versus Imavov Predictions

No matter the odds, the chances of winning here are 50-50. From all that we saw throughout the respective careers of these two guys and their current form, they are very similar, and neither fighter has an obvious advantage over the other. Now, five rounds is too much here, and that’s why we bet on the fight not going to the distance. Apart from solid KO power on both sides, the fact that they have one five-round battle combined (Imavov’s against Strickland) is another reason to pick this bet.

Our verdict: Fight not going to the distance