For a time, Roman Dolidze thought he’d be fighting Robert Whittaker next. Instead, he gets Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez atop UFC Vegas 109 this Saturday.
“For a couple of months they told me I was fighting Whittaker, but when they announced Whittaker was fighting De Ridder, next day they sent me ‘Fluffy,'” Dolidze (15-3) said during this week’s UFC Vegas 109 media day in Las Vegas.
Despite being booked against Hernandez, the Georgian middleweight believes both himself and “Fluffy” deserve foes with a higher profile, or at least ranking.
“I think we both deserve better opponents, higher ranked, but it is how is. I’m [happy] with the organization anyway, and if I’m [happy], I’m just taking what they offer.”
The Whittaker fight no longer interests Dolidze, he added. “I think for now, Whittaker, I don’t want to sound bad but no so much interesting for the future of my career. So after this win, somebody from the top five.”
Whittaker dropped a decision to Reinier de Ridder recently, which has no doubt taken some of the shine off the pairing.
Asked about Hernandez, Dolidze acknowledged that “he’s faced very good opponents, he’s a very good fighter, and he’s a very good person also. I met him yesterday in the hotel.” However, the 37-year old, who sits on a three-fight win streak, added that “I think he faced good opponents, but he never faced somebody with grappling like me. And we all know that he has good cardio and he loves to be on the ground and control people there, but I’m very active on the ground. I don’t give a rest to nobody.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 109 media day appearance by Roman Dolidze above.
