The Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze Light Heavyweight fight was never meant to happen. At least not at UFC 303 in Vegas.
When UFC 303 was announced, the fight between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. was supposed to serve as the co-main event. Rountree pulled out for taking PEDs and was replaced by Carlos Ulberg. Then, Hill withdrew due to an injury and was replaced by Anthony Smith.
Finally, Ulberg canceled his trip to Vegas as well and Roman Dolidze stepped in to save the day. As a result of all this, we’ll get to watch (and bet on) the Smith vs. Dolidze fight on June 29.
Before Betting on Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze UFC 303 Fight
The last time Antony Smith fought was in May when we saw him beat favored Vitor Petrino in the first round by a guillotine choke. Smith looked out of shape ahead of that fight, so it’s no surprise bookies were giving +310 odds for him winning.
Fast-forward to June and he looks slightly better, which is one of the reasons why Smith’s UFC 303 odds are +135. He’s still seen as an underdog, but his odds aren’t extremely bad.
The reason is that Dolidze stepped in on short notice, having only about 8 days to prepare for the fight. However, The Caucasian is a real warrior who’s ready to give his utmost in every fight.
He’s 12-3 overall with two of those three losses happening in his last two fights. However, both happened after the final bell. First, he lost to Marvin Vettori in a fight that saw Dolidze get hit 106 times by the Italian brawler.
Then, in his most recent fight, Dolidze lost to Nassourdine Imavov by a majority decision. He got beaten up in that fight as well, absorbing a total of 112 significant strikes.
Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze UFC 303 Offshore Odds & Pick
Roman Dolidze has one of the strongest chins in the division. He might not be 100% ready for the UFC 303 fight, but we doubt Smith can knock him out, especially given that the Lion Heart has only one KO/TKO win since 2018.
But maybe Smith can beat him by submission, the same way he did against Petrino? We don’t think so as Dolidze is an amazing wrestler with fine grappling skills.
Pick: Roman Dolidze
