Roman Dolidze moved down a weight class when he took on Trevin Giles at UFC Vegas 22 on Saturday.
The question was, would his power translate from 205lbs to the 185lb division? Interestingly enough, the undefeated Dolidze had begun his career outside the UFC in the heavyweight division, making middleweight the third weight class the Georgian had competed in.
Trevin Giles, meanwhile, was looking for his third consecutive win in the fight. And to take Dolidze’s 0.
Dolidze opened up with a jumping front kick, followed by a low calf kick. One minute into the fight and Dolidze switched his stance and threw a hard leg kick. Giles threw a fast high kick, but Dolidze blocked it. A spinning attack landed for Dolidze. With less than two minutes in the round, Dolidze landed a takedown, but Giles got up rather quickly. The Georgian fighter held Giles against the fence for the rest of the round. You could practically feel the power both of men at that point.
Trevin Giles landed a nice power left hand to start round two. Giles landed a power jab followed by a right hand that made Dolidze smile. Roughly two minutes into the round, Dolidze landed a nasty body kick. Giles was then caught with a punch and immediately went for a takedown. Dolidze dropped for a leg lock and then a heel hook. Giles seemed fairly confident on the ground with Dolizde and was landing power shots on the ground. Giles got to his feet, but Dolizde held him against the fence for the last 40 seconds.
Roman Dolidze seemed very tired to open round three. Dolidze threw two high kicks, but they were blocked Giles. Giles cracked Dolidze with a nasty punch and dropped him. Giles followed him to the ground, despite Dolidze appearing hurt. Giles would let him back up, but they went back to the ground soon after. Dolidze went for another heel hook, but Giles was safe. Both fighters took the center of the octagon, and Giles cracked his opponent again, only for Dolidze to immediately take him down. Dolidze ended the round on top.
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2️⃣9️⃣-2️⃣8️⃣What did your scorecard read? #UFCVegas22 pic.twitter.com/r5O3ReL2Ut
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2021
A hard-fought battle by both men, and a very close fight. In the end, Giles spoiled Dolidze’s middleweight debut, and is now on a three-fight winning streak. Dolidze’s unbeaten record, meanwhile, is now a thing of the past.
Official Results: Trevin Giles def. Roman Dolidze by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
