Derek Brunson vs Roman Dolidze middleweight scrap added to UFC 295

Though it’s still early in its development, UFC 295 is shaping up to be a pretty spectacular event, as the Ultimate Fighting Championships has added two incredible match ups to the lineup.

The first match up announced is a heavyweight title bout showcasing former UFC light-heavyweight champion and current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1), who aims to make the first defense of his newly claimed title against the returning former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic (20-4).

Our second bout added to the card comes in the middleweight division between no. 8 ranked Derek Brunson (23-9) and no. 9 ranked Roman Dolidze (12-2).

UFC 295 is to go down on November 11, 2023, live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Following a 2-4 span from 2016 to 2018 that saw Derek Brunson lose to the likes of former UFC middleweight champions Robert Whittaker (TKO) and Anderson Silva (UD), defeat Dan Kelly (KO) and former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida (KO), and lose to current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (TKO) and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jacare Souza (KO), he’d go on to win his next five-straight fights.

This streak saw him defeat the likes of Elias Theodorou (UD), Ian Heinisch (UD), Edmen Shahbazyan (TKO), Kevin Holland (UD), and former welterweight title challenger Darren Till (rear naked choke). However, he’s since lost his last two-straight to no. 4 ranked former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier (KO) and no. 1 ranked former KSW champion Dricus du Plessis (TKO).

Roman Dolidze on the other hand was riding a four-fight win, three-fight knockout streak going into his most recent appearance against no. 5 ranked former middleweight title challenger Marvin Vettori, the four victories coming over Laureano Staropoli (UD), Kyle Daukaus (KO), Phil Hawes (KO), and no. 10 ranked Jack Hermansson (TKO).

Vettori was awarded the unanimous decision victory however in a fight many saw Dolidze winning.

Now he has a chance to right that wrong with a victory over a longtime top 10 staple; Derek Brunson’s career has been up and down, but he’s only ever lost to the very best this sport has to offer.

Who do you see coming out on top in this epic middleweight showdown going down at UFC 295?

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Brady Ordway

I became a fan of combat sports when I was 12 years old. I was scrolling through the channels and landed upon Versus, where WEC was televised. Urijah Faber fought Jens Pulver for the second time that night. That's the first fight I ever saw, and I was immediately hooked. So eventually, I began covering the sport in the fourth quarter of 2018, and have since started writing about animals as well. If you'd like to see those pieces, be sure to check out learnaboutnature.com!

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