Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 307, we are going to see a fun matchup in the middleweight division. Roman Dolidze (13-3) will look to defend his spot in the rankings as he takes on “The Trailblazer” Kevin Holland (26-11).
The last few years have been very interesting for Kevin Holland. In 2020, he went a perfect 5-0 which included finishes over Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, and Jacare Souza. Those led him to two main events against Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. He lost both of those because he couldn’t stop takedowns.
From there, he dropped to welterweight where I think he looked great, but he lost his last two against Jack Della Maddalena and Michael “Venom” Page. He returned to 185 at UFC 302 and submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk in the first round. Now, he takes on Roman Dolidze.
Roman Dolidze is coming off a win at UFC 303 against former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith. That win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Dolidze. Prior to the losing streak, Dolidze had won four in a row including three finishes. He’s a world class wrestlers and he’s a big guy for the middleweight division.
UFC 307 Prediction
This fight is going to come down to whether or not Roman Dolidze fights with a good game plan. He’s a very dominant and decorated wrestler. In theory, Dolidze has a clear path to victory in this fight. That path is using his dominant wrestling and control to take Holland down and grind out a three-round decision.
However, we’ve seen him try to strike too much and that’s hurt him in fights. Kevin Holland is a sniper on the feet and he carries a ton of power. If Dolidze tries to get cute at UFC 307 and strike too much, Holland can win this fight. Also, if Dolidze is a little sloppy on the ground, Holland can easily throw up a submission with his long limbs. Holland’s jiu jitsu is top notch.
If there’s a finish in this fight, it’s going to be Holland by TKO or submission. However, I think we see a decision and it’ll be close, but I’m going with the wrestling of Dolidze at UFC 307.
Prediction: Roman Dolidze by Decision