At the 291st number tournament of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that graced the weekend, the fans were for whom to follow and for whom to rejoice. Octagon hosts Justin Gaethje, Derrick Lewis, Bobby Green and Kevin Holland lit up the main card. All of them received a standing ovation from Salt Lake City and received bonuses for early completion of fights.
However, even in the prelims there was a man whose hurricane in the octagon could compete with the Americans.
It's about our Roman Kopylov. A quiet guy from the town of Shchebzavod, Kemerovo Region, now lives in the Bachatsky urban-type settlement. As part of the preliminary card, the domestic athlete rudely treated the Brazilian Claudio Ribeiro and got close to the top 15 of the middle weight category.
For 31-year-old Kopylov, this victory was the third in a row, obtained by knockout, and the 11th in his professional career.
In the opening itself, Kopylov, after deceiving movements with his arms and body, brought a crazy high-kick to the goal. Ribeiro at the fatal moment did not cover his head at all. And then, until the referee arrived in time, with a finishing blow, he buried the opponent's chances of returning to the fight. The delight of Joe Rogan and other commentators knew no bounds!
Question: how could such beauty be left without praise from the leadership? A mystery for both journalists and fans. The latter broke into the comments of the official UFC account and stood up for the curly-haired Russian, who definitely deserved 50 thousand dollars for an explosive performance.
But everything began for Kopylov in the American League sadly, if not catastrophically. In November 2019, the Russian had a chance to debut in the UFC at the Moscow tournament, but the Fight Nights champion with a record of 8-0 ingloriously lost to the American Karl Roberson, knocking after a choke.
A stream of criticism fell upon Kopylov with reproaches «How did he get into the UFC?» and «Is this the level of the major league of the world?». How wrong Roman was then… He went for a change and began to climb to the top.
In the fall of 2018, Khabib's father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov spoke warmly about Kopylov in an interview with Izvestia . And even invited to practice:
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"Which of our fighters performing in domestic promotions is the most interesting to me? Fight Night Global middleweight champion Roman Kopylov. You can make anything out of this guy. He is one of the most interesting fighters. If Roman wants to get a good school that has gone years ahead, then welcome to Dagestan.»
After two consecutive defeats in the UFC, the athlete heeded the advice of the now deceased coaching legend. Kopylov went south to improve his skills, especially wrestling.
This is what came of it:
- September 3, 2022. After the breakdown «for medical reasons» of the April fight with Jordan Wright, Roman beats Italian Alessio di Chirico unconscious. This is how he saves himself from talking about impending dismissal (there is a tendency in the promotion to say goodbye to debutants who have lost three times). Fortunately, at that time Kopylov had a contract for four fights — it was the next fight that became decisive for the Russian;
- January 14, 2023. Pupil of the Kemerovo school of mixed martial arts moves American Punaele Soriano. For his second knockout victory in a row, Kopylov received a Performance of the Night bonus and a compliment from UFC head Dana White: “Kopylov looked amazing. Absolutely every jab and low kick was dangerous. attack and end the fight. New and improved contract received.
- < br>July 29, 2023. The finish at UFC 291, already touted by us, and a loud statement from Roman. The Siberian has challenged Sean Strickland himself, one of the top middleweight contenders.
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“Thanks to the league and Dana White for the trust. I'd like to fight a gangster of our weight, Sean Strickland. If the organization is interested, I would gladly share a cage with him. It's time to change places in the rankings with Sean,» Kopylov told the entire Vivint Arena stadium. Strickland could fight for the belt with Israel Adesanya in September. However, in the case of two or three such great fights as last weekend, the paths of the modest Roman and the daring Sean will intersect on the very approach to the title confrontation.
So far, the main goal of a fighter is to break into the rating and gain a foothold there.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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