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Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze 2 set to headline upcoming UFC Fight Night

A rematch two years in the making between middleweights Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze is set to headline an upcoming Fight Night event at the UFC Apex.

The UFC announced Tuesday that the pair of top-10 contenders will meet in a five-round contest at 185 pounds on March 15 in Las Vegas.

It's a rematch of a three-round matchup from UFC 286 in England in March 2023 that Vettori won via unanimous decision. That bout was primarily a standup matchup with Italy’s Vettori out-striking Georgia’s Dolidze in all three rounds and 106-71 overall during the 15-minute fight.

Vettori followed that win up with a five-round unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier three months later in a Fight Night main event that won a Fight of the Night award. Vettori is ranked No. 7 in the division and has alternated wins and losses since 2021 and his title shot against then-champion Israel Adesanya.

The 31-year-old Vettori was scheduled to face Brendan Allen in April 2024 but withdrew from the matchup due to injury. Still, the cancellation of that bout didn’t prevent Vettori and Allen from fighting — the pair got into a physical altercation in a hotel lobby at a PFL event.

Dolidze, 36, is coming off back-to-back victories over Anthony Smith at UFC 303 and Kevin Holland at UFC 307 in the second half of 2024. The No. 10 middleweight contender’s win over Smith was up at 205 pounds and Holland is more of a welterweight, though, so Vettori will be the first natural middleweight Dolidze has faced since his majority decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov roughly 12 months ago.

The only other bout confirmed so far for the upcoming March 15 event is a flyweight contest between Daniel Barez and André Lima.

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