Roman Dolidze reveals helping Jon Jones train for title fight against Anthony Smith back in 2019: "Was very concerned about his jiu-jitsu"
Roman Dolidze is set to return to light heavyweight for the first time since UFC on ESPN 19 back in 2020 when he faces Anthony Smith on the main card of UFC 303 this weekend. The No.10-ranked middleweight recently revealed that he helped Jon Jones prepare for his upcoming opponent in 2019.
Speaking at his media day appearance for the bout, 'The Caucasian' was asked where he believes the No.10-ranked light heavyweight is at in his career, responding:
"He has a lot of experience and if we will think about his last fight, everybody thought that he will lose that fight, but he won. And that's the best answer I can give to you. You never know what a fighter experienced like him can do in his fight, but of course we all understand that the best days he had are in the past. But I still worth him for everything what he has done for this sport."
Dolidze continued:
"In the past, I also helped Jones to prepare for a fight with Smith and Jones was very concerned about his jiu-jitsu. I remember it good and exactly that's why I was training with him. That's why I respect him and I'm not taking him like, 'oh, he's done' or something like that and I will not say that to you just to hype this thing."
Check out Roman Dolidze's comments on helping Jon Jones prepare for Anthony Smith below (starting at the 6:07 mark):
Jones went on to defeat Smith via unanimous decision to retain his light heavyweight title when the pair clashed at UFC 235 back in 2019. Dolidze will look to find similar success after taking the bout on just eight days' notice.
Anthony Smith claims Roman Dolidze taking bout 'says a lot' about light heavyweight division
Roman Dolidze accepted a short-notice opportunity to face Anthony Smith at UFC 303, marking his first time competing at light heavyweight in nearly four years. 'Lionheart' believes that the bout reflects poorly on other 205-pound contenders, stating:
"Him moving up says a lot about my division. If you guys want to do your jobs, go ask every available light heavyweight why there's a middleweight fighting this fight. They're going to make up a bunch of s**t, but I think you guys can read between the lines. Every single one of them said no... I think all those guys just got exposed."
Check out Anthony Smith's comments on facing Roman Dolidze below:
It is unclear which light heavyweight opponents were offered to Smith. Several of the division's contenders have either fought recently or are battling an injury.