Dolidze vs. Imavov Prediction on February 4, 2023

Match info

On Sunday, February 4, the men’s mixed martial arts competition UFC Fight Night 235 will take place at the UFC APEX Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The main event, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. local time, will feature the middleweight division bout between the Dagestani-French fighter Nassourdine Imavov and Roman Dolidze, coming from Georgia.

Meeting statistics

Dolidze is ranked seventh in this division, and Imavov is ranked 11th. Nevertheless, the Dagestani-French is the favorite according to the odds of bookmakers with UFC-inspired betting bonuses.

The current form of Dolidze

Roman Dolidze is a grappling world champion who entered MMA having that status, but he’s unquestionably not a traditional wrestler. His fighting style is distinct; he uses a sweep to attack and places greater emphasis on his stance. He’s physically quite robust and doesn’t shy away from exchanges.

Dolidze rose to prominence in the Ukrainian WWFC league, where he competed in the light heavyweight class and won five matches in a row before the last gong. The Georgian made his UFC debut in 2020, the same year he dropped to the middleweight category. Since then, he has won six bouts in the UFC, including two by knockout, and lost twice. He unfortunately lost to former title challenger Marvin Vettori in, until now, the last and most significant bout of his career, although not everyone supported the judge’s ruling because it was a stand-up match, and the Georgian, at least, didn’t fight any worse.

The current form of Imavov

When Nassourdine Imavov was a teenager, he relocated from Dagestan to France, where he started his professional career. His fighting technique is similar to Dolidze’s in that he can get involved in exchanges if needed, but he usually settles bouts standing up, occasionally forgoing defense in favor of cutting.

Following three significant UFC wins—a knockout over Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan, and by a decision over Joaquin Buckley—Imavov was shockingly defeated by a hair’s breadth by Sean Strickland—this fight ended up being Strickland’s first fight leading up to the title. After that, there was No Contest between Chris Curtis (a head clash), and for some reason, there was no bout between him and Ikram Aliskerov.

Comparison of Dolidze and Imavov

The two boxers’ careers are comparable, and the winner of their matchup will go up in the challenger’s ranking, while the other will go down in the rankings. The bout is expected to be great and is rightfully the main event of the tournament.

Match analytics

It’s debatable whether bookmakers are right to believe Imavov is the favorite in this fight. It goes without saying that the bout will mostly take place standing up, with each fighter having a chance to knock the other out. Both strike powerfully, but they are also emotional targets, which means that one of them will undoubtedly make a mistake and, more than likely, get tired as the match progresses.

Consequently, we think that the fight will probably conclude before the last gong and the wager Total Rounds Under 2.5 at odds of 2.20 on the BetUS line seems highly appealing.

Results of the forecast

Forecast failed. Victory Imavov