“Sport is falling apart” – Lackluster Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze main event at UFC Apex attracts negative reaction for Dana White

As the biggest MMA promotion in the world, Dana White‘s UFC has the capability to put on top MMA bouts each weekend. This time, the promotion tried to do the same at UFC Vegas 105, headlined by Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze. However, on the contrary, the fight received an array of criticism from many fans.

It was the second time that Vettori and Dolidze fought each other and the result was way different from the first fight. The Georgian middleweight was able to pick up a win via unanimous decision in a competitive clash. However, the fans weren’t at all happy with the main event bout. 

In the early rounds, both fighters were extremely cautious and spent most of their time managing distance. ‘The Italian Dream’ had his moment in the third round where he was able to wobble Dolidze but failed to capitalize on it. In response, Dolidze bounced back with a more aggressive approach, putting the former title contender on his backfoot.

WHAT A BATTLE 👏@RomanDolidzeUFC is leaving #UFCVegas104 with a unanimous decision victory! pic.twitter.com/xcm7n08rSd

— UFC (@ufc) March 16, 2025

As the fight continued, Dolidze’s attacks got more consistent, putting pressure on Vettori who knew the fight was slipping away. Vettori gave his best to make a late comeback but that wasn’t enough. While both fighters tried, the fight wasn’t entertaining enough for the fans.

Fight fans react to Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze main event 

Marvin Vettori made his UFC comeback after a huge 21-month hiatus and promised fireworks to the fans. On the other hand, Roman Dolidze went into the bout with a two-fight win streak, his last coming at UFC 307. With the win against Vettori, the Georgian fighter has now found himself in the top 10 of the middleweight rankings.

Despite top grossing pay-per-view events such as UFC 313, there is always a narrative behind UFC’s lackluster Fight Nights. Over the years, fans have remained very vocal about this, accusing the top brass of not making entertaining bouts. The UFC Vegas 105 main event was one such example and the reactions were immediate.

Vettori didn’t look as sharp as I thought he was going to.

— simpliciT Lenny (@lennylisc) March 16, 2025

Just gonna keep it real about Vettori vs Dolidze 2

The fact that this was a fight between two of the top 10 fighters in the Middleweight division

Is a fucking embarrassment to the sport

Both looked slow as fuck and absolute dog shit at fighting 🤷‍♂️ #UFCVegas104

— THE MMA GURU (@THATBOYMMAGURU) March 16, 2025

Mate what are you guys doing at the UFC. Like wake up with these dog shit events. The sport I once loved is falling apart in front of my eyes. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

— SickydoesMMA (@SICKYDOESMMA) March 16, 2025

PFL level fight

— @SteadyNewsNetwork (@Gettysburg24) March 16, 2025

Vettori doesn’t have that dog in him

— FP💰 (@FuckParlays) March 16, 2025

Ok. Now that that garbage fest is over, let's fire both Marvin and Roman into the sun and forget they ever existed.

— Thechek182 (@thechek182) March 16, 2025

Thankfully that was free.

— NME_MMA (@NME_MMA) March 16, 2025

Vettori is done at 31 already

— ddd (@vor933) March 16, 2025

As expected, many fans criticized UFC for making such an underwhelming fight card and main event. There are also many negative comments towards Marvin Vettori and his performance. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see Dana White‘s response to this.

Marvin Vettori issue statement amid washed claims

During the 2019-21 time period, Marvin Vettori was in his prime and a four-fight win streak landed him a title shot. Going against Israel Adesanya, he gave fans a very entertaining rivalry but ended up losing the bout via unanimous decision. Since then, his career has been fairly inconsistent with more losses than wins. 

In his last four fights, the Italian fighter has lost three times and is looking way out of his prime version. His inactivity also played a huge part in his current form. After losing to Roman Dolidze, the former title challenger issued a statement, sharing his feelings after the bout.

Nothing too bad, just some cuts and bruises. F*ck man, life sometimes shows you that even if you give your heart out and everything you got, you still fall short. That was a close fight. I almost had him in the third [round] but I guess it wasn’t enough.

Marvin Vettori via Instagram stories 

Vettori is currently 31 years old and definitely has the potential to make a huge comeback. The fighter has good wrestling and striking prowess, and there is still time to improve them. With a change of attitude and team, the fighter could see himself fighting for the title again.

Related: Marvin Vettori Net Worth, Endorsements, UFC contract, Girlfriend, and House