Roman Dolidze sets sights on Israel Adesanya following UFC Vegas 104 victory

Roman Dolidze is in search of big names in the UFC middleweight division.

Dolidze entered the UFC Vegas 104 main event with a chance at revenge. Back in March 2023, Dolidze was defeated by Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision. It’s a fight Dolidze feels he should’ve won, but the rematch was his chance at vindication. He ended up defeating “The Italian Dream” in a rematch via unanimous decision.

Now, the Georgian fighter is looking to move on to some highly regarded names at 185 pounds.

RELATED: MARVIN VETTORI CALLS FOR TRILOGY FIGHT WITH ROMAN DOLIDZE FOLLOWING UFC VEGAS 104 LOSS

Roman Dolidze Wants Names Such as Israel Adesanya

Now that he will likely be returning to a top 10 spot on the official UFC middleweight rankings, Roman Dolidze feels it’s time for a major name, such as Israel Adesanya or Robert Whittaker. Here’s what Dolidze told media members during the UFC Vegas 104 post-fight press conference (h/t MMAJunkie).

“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.”

Dolidze is riding a three-fight winning streak. In that span, he’s beaten Vettori, Kevin Holland, and Anthony Smith. He’s gone unbeaten after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov, who stopped Adesanya via second-round TKO. Time will tell who UFC matchmakers trying booking Dolidze against next.

If Adesanya isn’t available, Dolidze wants to try his hand against Whittaker. Both Adesanya and Whittaker are former UFC champions. A win over either man would easily be the biggest of Dolidze’s career.