Considering Dolidze’s on-paper advantages and chaotic style, no one should be shocked if this party ends up on the floor at some point this Saturday.
Although process and consistency aren’t things that are typically synonymous with Dolidze’s game, the Georgian fighter has displayed serviceable takedown tools in the past.
Dolidze is athletic enough for shot attempts in the open, but the 35-year-old pro appears to prefer working things out from the clinch.
Utilizing his long limbs, Dolidze does well at either securing grips for takedown attempts or framing for devastating knees and strikes off the breaks. That said, Dolidze is not beyond being taken down or out-positioned himself – so don’t sleep on Imavov in these spots.
Even though the fighter from France has fewer attempts on the stat sheet (which can be deceiving given sample sizes), Imavov’s offensive nature often finds himself flowing or crashing into clinch space.
Imavov will sometimes parlay this momentum into opportunistic level-changing takedown attempts that either score or allow him to secure his foes along the fence.
Imavov has seemingly absorbed a lot of the muay Thai swagger seen in a lot of Fernand Lopez fighters, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 28-year-old utilize his solid framing game in close to land some vicious elbows and knees of his own. That said, I’m not sure how much he’ll want to go strength-for-strength with a guy like Dolidze in closed quarters.
Aside from the finishes he’s been accruing in said space, Dolidze is also the type of opportunistic grappler who will go for submissions in strange and unorthodox positions.
Not afraid to invert his guard or drop for a leg, Dolidze’s competence and confidence make for a dangerous dance partner in this division. Imavov may have a solid game from topside, but I’m not so sure he’ll willingly want to try his luck with a customer like Dolidze.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie