Daniel Cormier on why Roman Dolidze is a “tougher matchup” for Anthony Smith at UFC 303

Daniel Cormier: Roman Dolidze a tougher out for Anthony Smith

During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen, Cormier explained the challenges that Smith may face against Dolidze.

“It just seemed as though there was a clear path against Ulberg. Avoid the dangerous striking, you have a chance to take him down, you can grapple him. That doesn’t seem as clear against Dolidze,” Cormier said. “A tremendous striker and grappler, so I believe it’s a tougher fight. Luckily though, Dolidze is a middleweight, so Smith will still have a size advantage.”

Dolidze has lost back-to-back fights since a four-fight winning streak in his UFC tenure. He most recently fell to Nassourdine Imavov by majority decision in February.

Smith is looking to keep his positive momentum after a quick finish to Vitor Petrino at UFC 301. He tapped out Petrino with a guillotine choke just two minutes into the fight.

Smith will have a distinct experience advantage inside the Octagon. He’s faced some of the top all-time UFC light heavyweights, including Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.

Despite this, Cormier feels Dolidze is a tricky stylistic puzzle for Smith to solve at UFC 303, and the upstart Dolidze could earn a statement win on one of the summer’s biggest stages.