News Anthony 'Fluffy' Hernandez vs Roman Dolidze set for UFC 302

Who Wins?


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I got Fluffy in this he's in the best form of his career and Dolizde looked like utter dogshit against Imavov. He looked slower than ever, hesitant to pull the trigger and couldn't find any answers with his limited skillset.
 
Should be a war.
Dolidze is slow as hell. He had Jack Hermanson looking like Izzy against him but the thing we've been seeing is Dolidze is INSANELY strong for MW and turns people into jello with that strength once he gets a hold of them and he doesn't seem to drop off in skills the later a fight goes which is a good sign here.

Fluffy is a mad man who seems willing to fight anywhere as long as it involves cardio but this fight feels like no matter how he decides to press it'll be dangerous like poor Hawes found out. This a great test because I think just out hustling Dolidze isn't a "safe" option compared to pressing quicker guys like Edmen and Kopylov.



I'm torn here. Dolidze has looked extremely flat footed in his last 3 fights and if Fluffy is smart he could probably stick and move with high volume here..... but the odds of Fluffy getting too deep into a scramble for his own good feel high too.

I'll lean Fluffy but this one should be fun.
I think that's a great point. You gotta take fluffy here, but his penchant for turning it into a gritty, messy brawl isn't a plan he should follow dogmatically, or else he might wind up getting ko'd or subbed. The possibility that he might have only the one speed means that this fight be closer-and more fun--than it should be.

Roman has looked pretty blehh after the Roman Dolidze Ultra Violence Tour of 2022, though.
 
This is a dangerous fight for Fluffy -- he is greart at getting his opponents tired and taking them down before beating the shit out of them into submission, but taking down Dolidze could be a big risk. I think I like Fluffy, but damn this should be a good one. Good matchmaking.
 
LINK: https://www.mmafighting.com/2024/3/...al&utm_content=mmafighting&utm_source=twitter

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Great fight!
 
Solid matchup. I think Roman will be fighting with more urgency if he's smart.
 
Rooting for Hernandez, have been a fan for a while now. Subbing Roman would be a big feather in his cap.
 
Really, really like this fight. Think Hernandez outhustles him, just.
 
Fluffy is game-time and I like his chances here

Roman makes mistakes chasing things on the ground and Hernandez is very sound there, been impressed by his overall grappling game
 
Fluffy has arguably already fought a very similar stylistic match-up to this in the Vieira bout: a big-for-the-division, physically strong dude with pop in his shots, very basic striking, limited output, and a dangerous submission game.

As exciting as it would be to have the two of them grapple on the mat, I think Anthony should just pursue a sprawl-n-brawl gameplan here. Roman is an undisciplined, plodding brawler. His arsenal on the feet is very limited outside of the clinch and he relies heavily on his physicality, aggression, chin, and power to carry him through standup exchanges. Fluffy, despite being a primary grappler himself, has very credible boxing. Roman has a lot of heat in his hands and can also generate surprising amounts of power in his clinch strikes and we've seen Fluffy get hurt... but it's almost always to the body. His chin and heart seem quite solid overall and I don't see Roman aggressively pursuing body shots over 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Anthony will be free to jab his face off at range.

Roman doesn't shoot takedowns nearly as often as he probably should and what few he attempts I think Hernandez will be able to stuff or scramble out of danger from. I do have concerns about Hernandez (a fairly small MW) struggling with Dolidze's size, though. The dude is a former HW, after all, and is clearly very strong (particularly in the aforementioned clinch). If he just decides to hold Hernandez against the cage and throw knees and short shots, he could have success.

Fluffy is game-time and I like his chances here

Roman makes mistakes chasing things on the ground and Hernandez is very sound there, been impressed by his overall grappling game

IMO if Fluffy is forcing wrestling exchanges he's doing half of Dolidze's work for him. Roman is arguably the most terrifying opportunistic submission ace above 155 pounds. The way he made a very credentialed grappler in Hermansson look like a White Belt off his back is just bonkers and to this day I still can't wrap my head around it. He also effortlessly fucked up Phil Hawes (a solid MMA wrestler with decent top control) with elbows from his back before tearing poor dude's knee apart. Hell, even after getting beaten up by Imavov for 15 minutes straight, he still managed to nearly tie him up in knots and place him in submission danger in Round 4 based on one fleeting opportunity.

Don't get me wrong, Fluffy impressed me immensely with his awareness, composure, and submission defense against Rodolfo even when he was getting taken down and placed in bad positions. I don't doubt that he has the ability to potentially shut down the Georgian's guard and grind him out. But given the size disparity and the threat Roman poses off his back as compared to each man's relative ability on the feet, IMO grappling represents the path of greater resistance.
 
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Dolidze fights like an angry drunk at a bar who took some ju jitzu lessons a few times.
 
I’m assuming Fluffy will be a big favorite here. Will edit closer to the fight but will be throwing down on Dolidze. He hadn’t looked great but is fighting higher level Opponents overall. I think he wrestles and gets on top of Fluffy and does some work
 
Hernandez should win. But if he lets it devolve into a brawl dolidzes power comes into play
 
I’m assuming Fluffy will be a big favorite here. Will edit closer to the fight but will be throwing down on Dolidze. He hadn’t looked great but is fighting higher level Opponents overall. I think he wrestles and gets on top of Fluffy and does some work

Betting on Dolidze to wrestle is a tricky one unfortunately. He spent 25 minutes getting beaten up by Imavov with Nicksick, Strickland, and Curtis in his corner begging him to do just that, yet he didn't even average so much as one takedown per round and the ones he did attempt were half-assed. He only shot once against Marvin. His victories against Hawes and Hermansson were based on those guys taking him down. The last time he had any real degree of success outright with his offensive wrestling was a snoozer against Staropoli: a bloated Welterweight kickboxer who had a pretty awful UFC run.

I think Dolidze is live here, mind you, and not a bad bet per se even if I don't favor him. But I would be surprised if he outwrestles Fluffy directly. I think he is more likely to win by dominating Hernandez in the clinch, landing a big punch in the open, or catching him with something silly off his back.
 
Ikram ducking Fluffy was a smart move. Dude is good.
 
Wow, I'm surprised that almost everybody think that Hernandez will win. <Fedor23>
 
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