UFC 303's Roman Dolidze reveals he helped Jon Jones prep for 2019 title fight vs. Anthony Smith

LAS VEGAS – Roman Dolidze is familiar with studying Anthony Smith.

Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) steps in on short notice to face Smith (38-19 MMA, 13-9 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout on Saturday’s UFC 303 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Smith is coming off a first-round submission of Vitor Petrino at UFC 301, bouncing the Brazilian out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Although “Lionheart” has alternated wins and losses in his past five fights, Dolidze knows not to underestimate him.

“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,” Dolidze told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday.

“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 (value) him for everything what he has done for this sport.”

Smith is a former title challenger. He faced Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 235 in 2019 but lost by unanimous decision. Dolidze says Jones sought help from him for Smith’s ground game.

“In the past, I also helped Jones to prepare for a fight with Smith, and Jones was very concerned about his jiu-jitsu,” Dolidze said. “I remember it good and exactly that’s why I was training with him. That’s why I respect (Smith), 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.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.