Roman Kopylov
Russia
Drops decision at MSG
Kopylov lost to Gregory Rodrigues via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29) at UFC 322 on Saturday in New York City.
ANALYSIS
Kopylov was competitive, but neither the output nor the efficiency on the feet was enough for him to win a decision. He attempted just 105 significant strikes (landing 52) compared to 90 from Rodrigues (who landed 90). Kopylov, a noted pure striker, did pick up two rare takedowns, although it was mostly just a positional thing. He gained just 35 seconds of control time as a result of the two successful tries. Roman won four in row via knockout from September 2022 to September 2023, but he's fallen on hard times of late, dropping two straight and three of five dating back to February 2024.
Kopylov was competitive, but neither the output nor the efficiency on the feet was enough for him to win a decision. He attempted just 105 significant strikes (landing 52) compared to 90 from Rodrigues (who landed 90). Kopylov, a noted pure striker, did pick up two rare takedowns, although it was mostly just a positional thing. He gained just 35 seconds of control time as a result of the two successful tries. Roman won four in row via knockout from September 2022 to September 2023, but he's fallen on hard times of late, dropping two straight and three of five dating back to February 2024.
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Booked for UFC 322
Kopylov will take on Gregory Rodrigues in a middleweight bout at UFC 322 in New York City on Nov. 15, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Kopylov could use a win to right the ship after he suffered a loss to Paulo Costa via unanimous decision back in July. That dropped his UFC record to 6-4, and he'll look to start stacking victories again against Rodrigues who has won four of his last five bouts, most recently taking down Jack Hermansson.
Kopylov could use a win to right the ship after he suffered a loss to Paulo Costa via unanimous decision back in July. That dropped his UFC record to 6-4, and he'll look to start stacking victories again against Rodrigues who has won four of his last five bouts, most recently taking down Jack Hermansson.
Brief winning streak snapped
Kopylov lost to Paulo Costa via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29) at UFC 318 on Saturday in New Orleans.
ANALYSIS
Kopylov entered having won six of seven, including five of those via knockout, but his best victory during that stretch came against Chris Curtis. Costa, even in his diminished state of late, is quite a bit better than all those guys. Kopylov simply was unable to get out of first gear. He appeared hesitant to let his hands go and was biting on every single fake Costa threw his way. He ate far too many kicks, both to the legs and body, and didn't appear to land one truly damaging blow until there were just a couple minutes left in the bout. Kopylov has zero grappling skills, and he's going to struggle mightily if those power shots aren't connecting with regularity. The 33-year-old Russian will attempt to rebound his next time out.
Kopylov entered having won six of seven, including five of those via knockout, but his best victory during that stretch came against Chris Curtis. Costa, even in his diminished state of late, is quite a bit better than all those guys. Kopylov simply was unable to get out of first gear. He appeared hesitant to let his hands go and was biting on every single fake Costa threw his way. He ate far too many kicks, both to the legs and body, and didn't appear to land one truly damaging blow until there were just a couple minutes left in the bout. Kopylov has zero grappling skills, and he's going to struggle mightily if those power shots aren't connecting with regularity. The 33-year-old Russian will attempt to rebound his next time out.
Costa fight gets new date
Kopylov's scheduled middleweight matchup against Paulo Costa has been moved to UFC 318 on July 19, Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
The fight was originally scheduled for UFC 317 on June 28, and while reports Tuesday morning suggested it had been canceled, it is instead simply being pushed back. Kopylov, who is 6-1 in his last seven UFC bouts, had been listed as roughly a (-258) betting favorite for the original booking.
The fight was originally scheduled for UFC 317 on June 28, and while reports Tuesday morning suggested it had been canceled, it is instead simply being pushed back. Kopylov, who is 6-1 in his last seven UFC bouts, had been listed as roughly a (-258) betting favorite for the original booking.
Will take on Paulo Costa
Kopylov will face Paulo Costa at UFC 317 on June 28 in a middleweight bout, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Kopylov defeated Chris Curtis via TKO in his most recent fight on Jan. 11, and the Russian has been on a tear of late after winning six of his last seven fights. He should have the upper hand on paper against Costa, who has lost his previous two fights and is also coming off an injury that has kept him sidelined for almost a year.
Kopylov defeated Chris Curtis via TKO in his most recent fight on Jan. 11, and the Russian has been on a tear of late after winning six of his last seven fights. He should have the upper hand on paper against Costa, who has lost his previous two fights and is also coming off an injury that has kept him sidelined for almost a year.
Takes war from Chris Curtis
Kopylov defeated Chris Curtis via TKO (head kick) at 4:59 of Round 3 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It was a wild, back-and-forth war in which both men had their moments. Each would end up walking away with a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus when it was all said and done. Kopylov started very quickly, getting the better of Curtis in Round 1. He faded for a good portion of Round 2, but picked up the pace in Round 3. Roman has had cardio issues in the past, and he appeared tired late here, but battled through it. Kopylov landed the more notable blows, which allowed him to overcome Curtis' 142-130 edge in total strikes landed. Roman also deserves credit for going to his wrestling game late in order to secure the victory. He was going to win a decision if referee Mark Smith didn't stop the fight with a second to go. The 32-year-old Russian has come out of nowhere to win six of his last seven. The lone defeat in that stretch came against a legitimate title contender in Anthony Hernandez.
It was a wild, back-and-forth war in which both men had their moments. Each would end up walking away with a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus when it was all said and done. Kopylov started very quickly, getting the better of Curtis in Round 1. He faded for a good portion of Round 2, but picked up the pace in Round 3. Roman has had cardio issues in the past, and he appeared tired late here, but battled through it. Kopylov landed the more notable blows, which allowed him to overcome Curtis' 142-130 edge in total strikes landed. Roman also deserves credit for going to his wrestling game late in order to secure the victory. He was going to win a decision if referee Mark Smith didn't stop the fight with a second to go. The 32-year-old Russian has come out of nowhere to win six of his last seven. The lone defeat in that stretch came against a legitimate title contender in Anthony Hernandez.