UFC Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov Main Card Betting Preview

The UFC is back after a week off with a surprisingly intriguing Fight Night card featuring two ranked bouts at the UFC Apex on Saturday evening. There’s also an exciting welterweight battle between two UFC veterans to look forward to as well. The main event features No. 8 middleweight Roman Dolidze going up against No. 11 Nassourdine Imavov, with the lower-ranked fighter coming in as the moneyline favorite on most betting sites and betting apps.

UFC Fight Night 235: Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov Main Card Betting Odds - February 3

In addition to that battle between two of the most exciting middleweights in the UFC today, we get a ranked lightweight matchup featuring No. 13 contender Renato Moicano scrapping it out with No. 15 Drew Dober. We’ll also be treated to a welterweight bout featuring two guys that have been around the block in Randy Brown and Muslim Salikhov. All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

No. 8 Roman Dolidze vs. No. 11 Nassourdine Imavov Middleweight Main Event Fight Odds

In the main event, we see two ranked fighters looking to bounce back and start climbing up the middleweight rankings after losses in their most recent fights. The 35-year-old underdog, Roman Dolidze (12-2), is seven years older than his opponent, but he actually has three fewer pro fights under his belt. Most recently, the Russian lost a tough decision to No. 5 Marvin Vettori.

Across the octagon will be a 28-year-old up-and-comer in Nassourdine Imavov (12-4, 1 NC). After an exciting three-fight win streak in 2021-2022, Imavov had some bad luck in 2023, losing a decision to eventual middleweight champ Sean Strickland before a clash of heads ended his last fight against No. 13 Chris Curtis as a no contest last June.

It’s worth noting that Imavov was dominating Curtis before the fight was unfortunately called off, using his superior technical striking to piece up his opponent. He should be able to do the same here against a plodder like Dolidze. Another impressive part of Imavov’s game is his gas tank, which was on full display when he took the fifth round against Strickland a couple of fights ago.

Dolidze has historically faded late in fights, so if he can’t finish Imavov early, he’s going to struggle to keep up in the championship rounds. Dolidze is likely going to try and take Imavov to the mat because of the Frenchman’s advantage in the stand up, but Imavov has good enough takedown defense to avoid that.

We like Imavov here, and at -159 moneyline odds, you could do a lot worse. However, if you’re looking for a little more juice, the fight to go the distance at +150 or Imavov to win via decision at +225 are both worth a look. Dolidze has never been finished as a pro and Imavov has only been finished once, which was a submission loss in his first ever pro MMA bout.

No. 13 Renato Moicano vs. No. 15 Drew Dober Lightweight Co-Main Event Fight Odds

In the co-main event, we see two guys on the fringes of the lightweight division’s top 15 in Renato Moicano (17-5-1) and Drew Dober (27-12, 1 NC). This one will be a classic clash of styles with Moicano bringing 10 submission wins to the octagon and Dober bringing 14 KOs.

The tough part is, Moicano has a glass chin, and Dober has some of the worst takedown defense in the division. However, we would say that Moicano has been a slightly better striker than Dober is in terms of wrestling and jiu-jitsu, which gives him the slight edge. He’s got three inches of height and two inches of reach over Dober as well.

Dober has power for days, and if he gets inside on Moicano, it could spell doom for the Brazilian. However, we find it more likely that Moicano will be able to take advantage of Dober’s susceptibility to the takedown. And once Dober’s down, he pretty much gives up and accepts his position. Moicano’s -185 moneyline odds aren’t offering quite enough, so we like Moicano at +125 to win via submission.

If you want to hedge, Dober at +225 to win via KO/TKO would mean you’re almost guaranteed to win something: 60 percent of Moicano’s losses have come via KO, while four of Dober’s last six losses have come via submission.

Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov Welterweight Fight Odds

In the third fight of the main card, we get two UFC veterans with 35-year-old Randy Brown (17-5) coming in with 16 UFC fights under his belt and 39-year-old Muslim Salikhov (19-4) coming in with nine fights in the UFC octagon on his resume.

While both of these guys have been finishing machines in their careers, in recent years, they have both won a lot more often by decision. Brown’s last four wins came via the judges scorecards, and same goes for three of Salikhov’s last four.

However, when they lose, it’s pretty much never by decision, as they have combined for just two decision losses in their long careers. We’re rolling with the fight to go over 2.5 rounds at +125 odds, or the fight to not go the distance at +100 odds here.