March 11, 2025 6: 00 pm ET
UFC Fight Night 254 goes down Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+), with a rather uninspiring lineup headlined by a middleweight rematch.
After winning the first meeting by unanimous decision in March 2023, Marvin Vettori (19-7-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) will attempt to repeat the feat when he runs it back with Roman Dolidze (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in a five-round bout.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 254.
Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
Marvin Vettori
Marvin Vettori
Vettori returns to competition for the first time since June 17, 2023. The 637-day layoff is the longest of his nearly 13-year career.
Vettori has never lost consecutive fights in his MMA career. He was defeated in his most recent bout.
Vettori’s average fight time of 16: 21 in UFC middleweight competition is fourth-longest in divisional history behind Sean Strickland (18: 11), Israel Adesanya (17: 09) and Jared Cannonier (16: 26).
Vettori and Cannonier combined for 394 significant strikes landed at UFC on ESPN 47, the single-fight record for a UFC middleweight bout.
Vettori is one of four fighters to land 11 or more takedowns in a UFC middleweight bout. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ABC 2.
Roman Dolidze
Roman Dolidze
Dolidze is 5-3 since he dropped to the middleweight division in March 2020.
Dolidze has earned 11 of his 14 career victories by stoppage.
Chidi Njokuani vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Chidi Njokuani
Chidi Njokuani (24-10 MMA, 4-3 UFC) is 2-0 since he dropped to the UFC welterweight division in March 2024.
Njokuani’s 16-second victory at UFC Fight Night 200 marked the second-fastest debut in UFC middleweight history behind Marc Weir’s 10-second win at UFC 38.
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (25-8-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) is one of three fighters in history to earn UFC knockouts stemming from a flying knee and a spinning wheel kick. Cory Sandhagen and Edson Barboza also accomplished the feat.
Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Cody Gibson
Da’Mon Blackshear
Da’Mon Blackshear (15-7-1 MMA, 3-3-1 UFC) is one of three fighters in UFC history to earn a submission victory by Twister. He accomplished the feat at UFC on ESPN 51. Bryce Mitchell and Chan Sung Jung have also won with the technique.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Ryan Spann
Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at heavyweight is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind Mick Parkin (four).
Cortes-Acosta has earned four of his five UFC victories by decision.
Ryan Spann (22-10 MMA, 8-5 UFC) moves up to the heavyweight division after spending his previous 13 octagon appearances at light heavyweight.
Spann has earned 19 of his 22 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished 16 of those wins in Round 1.
Daniel Barez vs. Andre Lima
Andre Lima
Andre Lima (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) became the first fighter in UFC history to earn a victory by disqualification for his opponent biting. The feat happened at UFC on ESPN 53.
Josiana Nunes vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Priscila Cachoeira
Priscila Cachoeira (12-6 MMA, 4-6 UFC) is 4-6 in her past 10 fights after starting her career 8-0.
Cachoeira’s 40-second knockout at UFC Fight Night 168 is the fastest stoppage in UFC women’s flyweight history.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 254.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
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