The UFC Vegas 28 main card featured a battle of Georgia versus Argentina at middleweight. As Roman Dolidze and Laureano Staropoli both entered the Octagon looking to get back into the win column after setbacks in their most recent outings.
Staropoli came out in the first minute and landed some strong kicks to the legs that got his opponent’s attention. The speedy offense led Dolidze to change up the pace and make the fight a wrestling match. For much of the rest of the round, the Georgian controlled his opponent up against the cage as he kept hold of a body lock on Staropoli’s back. However, there wasn’t any damage done, and it was far from an exciting affair, but the round was one “The Caucasian” surely won.
Roman Dolidze wins snoozefest decision over Laureano Staropoli
Seconds into the round and Dolidze returned to “El Matador’s” back, and the pair were battling up against the cage. Since Staropoli had no answer to the position in the first round, it made too much sense not to do it again. However, after a minute and a half, the 28-year-old Argentinian was finally able to separate and try to score with his strikes. However, the native of Georgia waited for the right moment, timed his opponent and was able to get the standing back position once again. Ho-hum.
The third was a rinse and repeat of a fight that benefited from not having fans in attendance because it surely would have been inundated by boos from a frustrated crowd. There was no surprise in the final decision as Dolidze was awarded the unanimous decision. While he did not show much effort to try and damage and finish his opponent, Staropoli deserves as much of the credit for a boring fight as he showed a particular technique completely perplexed him for nearly 15 minutes.
Dolidze bounces back from a March loss to Trevin Giles and moves to 9-1 overall. Staropoli has now lost three straight and is 2-3 in the Octagon.
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