Roman Dolidze vs Anthony Smith Prediction: Bout Won't Go the Distance

On the night of June 30th, the UFC 303 tournament will be held in Las Vegas. In one of the main card fights, Roman Dolidze and Anthony Smith will meet in the light heavyweight category.

Roman Dolidze, a former world and European champion in grappling, has had an inspiring journey to the UFC. His invitation to the UFC in 2020 was just the beginning, and he has steadily climbed the rankings, now holding the tenth position in the middleweight division (the fight with Smith will be held in the flyweight division).

But last year, something went wrong, and Roman failed his last two fights. However, it should be noted that he was defeated by some tough guys - Marvin Vettori (unanimous decision) and Nassurdin Imavov (majority decision).

Dolidze's fighting style is very aggressive; he jumps on his opponents in the standing and hits hard, but he needs more boxing school, so he wins by pressure and force.

Anthony Smith is still number ten, but the trend is obvious—he is gradually going down, as he was fighting for the belt not so long ago. Throughout his career, he had many brutal fights and top opponents; just remember Magomed Ankalaev or Glover Teixeira. In 2019, Smith even fought Jon Jones for the belt, lost on points, but looked very decent.

When he wins, he almost always wins early, except that he almost always loses early (eleven KO losses are no joke). We expect nothing less than a doubleheader from his fight with Roman Dolidze, especially since he insists on it.

Both like to fight on their feet and wrestle only in extreme cases. Considering the fact that Dolidze is coming out on short notice, he will try to be as aggressive as possible so as not to drag out the fight - because resources may be scarce again.

Both fighters are known for their aggressive style, so the potential for an early finish is high. Anthony Smith, experienced in such situations, will be ready to counterattack. With the fight not expected to last the whole distance, the anticipation for a knockout is high, adding to the excitement of the bout.