Roman Kopylov

Kopylov edged César Almeida by split decision in Newark and showed he could survive a competitive kickboxing match without needing a finish. The win mattered because it got him moving again after the Hernandez loss and added a different kind of UFC result to a résumé that had leaned heavily on stoppages.

Key moments

• Beat César Almeida by split decision after three rounds.
• Returned to the win column after the Anthony Hernandez defeat.
• Logged his first UFC decision victory.

Kopylov started well against Anthony Hernandez, especially with the body kicks, but the matchup swung once Hernandez turned the fight into a pressure-and-grappling battle. Kopylov defended early takedowns, yet Hernandez's persistence eventually forced a scramble that led to the rear-naked choke in round two.

Key moments

• Kopylov landed clean southpaw body kicks early and made Hernandez fight through damage to close distance.
• Hernandez kept pressing anyway, chaining fence work and repeated wrestling attempts rather than backing off.
• An awkward fall under pressure in round two gave Hernandez the back position he had been hunting.

Kopylov kept building his reputation as a body-shot finisher when he stopped Josh Fremd late in the second round at Noche UFC. It was the kind of measured striking performance he does well: patient early, then increasingly punishing once the kicks and straight left start taking away an opponent's base.

Key moments

• The fight took place on the Noche UFC card in Las Vegas.
• Kopylov gradually built the offense rather than forcing the finish from the opening exchanges.
• The stoppage came with a punch to the body at 4:44 of round two.

Kopylov survived a wild first round against Claudio Ribeiro and then ended the fight almost immediately in the second with a head kick. The finish mattered because it showed he could win a dangerous firefight without abandoning the layered kicking game that makes him hard to read.

Key moments

• The first round turned chaotic, with both men having dangerous moments before the reset between rounds.
• Round two started more cautiously until Kopylov suddenly fired off a feinted setup into the finish.
• The head kick knockout landed just 33 seconds into the second round.
• It gave Kopylov back-to-back UFC finishes and kept the middleweight surge alive.

Kopylov broke Soriano down with body work before forcing a standing stoppage in the second round at the UFC Apex. The result was a clean example of what his best offense looks like: southpaw kicks to the body, increasing pressure, and a finish once the opponent starts reacting rather than attacking.

Key moments

• Kopylov entered as a slight underdog but steadily took over the striking exchanges.
• The body kicks started to sap Soriano's ability to plant and counter with his usual power.
• Kopylov closed the sequence with punches after the body work had already done the heavy damage.
• The stoppage came at 3:19 of round two for his second straight UFC win.

The body kicks and southpaw pressure gradually took over the fight, and the knockout ended a 0-2 start that had put his roster spot in danger.

Key moments

• Kopylov came into the bout needing a result after losing his first two UFC appearances.
• He increasingly found the body kick and straighter left hand as the fight went on.
• The finish came at 1:09 of round three with combination punches.

Duraev outworked Kopylov over three rounds in Abu Dhabi by mixing enough wrestling and pace to blunt Kopylov's cleaner moments on the feet. Kopylov rallied late and even found a big takedown of his own, but by then too much of the fight had already slipped away.

Key moments

• The opening frame stayed mostly upright, but Duraev consistently pushed the tempo and made Kopylov work harder than he wanted.
• By round three Kopylov looked tired, though he still had moments of offense and refused to fold.
• A late takedown and push for the finish were not enough to erase the earlier control and activity from Duraev.
• The judges scored it 30-27, 29-27 and 29-27 for Duraev.

Kopylov's UFC debut went badly because Roberson denied him a clean start, chopped at the legs, and made him fight from the back foot for long stretches. Kopylov came on late and tried to force a finish in the third, but Roberson timed a takedown and took the back for the submission.

Key moments

• Roberson pressured early and repeatedly landed leg kicks that slowed Kopylov's movement.
• Kopylov spent much of the first two rounds trying to find rhythm while dealing with that accumulating damage.
• Roberson got the takedown, found the back, and secured the rear-naked choke at 4:01 of round three.

Kopylov defended his Fight Nights Global middleweight title by stopping veteran Yasubey Enomoto in the fourth round.

Key moments

• The bout headlined Fight Nights Global 91 in Moscow.
• Enomoto brought high-level experience and championship credentials into the matchup.
• Kopylov ended the fight with a body-shot knockout at 3:39 of round four.
• It served as a successful defense of the FNG middleweight belt.

Kopylov won the Fight Nights Global middleweight championship by stopping Abusupyan Alikhanov after four rounds in Moscow.

Key moments

• The fight was booked as the main event for the FNG middleweight title.
• Kopylov carried the contest into the championship rounds rather than needing an early finish.
• The stoppage was recorded as a corner stoppage at the end of round four.
• Winning that belt anchored the regional résumé that later got him to the UFC.

Kopylov stayed perfect in 2017 by knocking out Luiz Gustavo Dutra in the opening round at the Plotforma Cup.

Key moments

• The knockout came at 3:15 of round one.
• Kopylov again won inside the distance rather than needing the cards.
• It came between his early Fight Nights wins and the later title push.

The result still reads like an early blueprint for the later UFC body-shot finishes that made his name.

Key moments

• The knockout came from a spinning back kick to the body rather than a conventional punching exchange.
• Gugov was stopped at 3:57 of round two in Rostov-on-Don.
• It became one of the signature finishes on Kopylov's regional highlight reel.
• The technique foreshadowed the body-work theme that followed him into the UFC.

Kopylov earned his second professional finish by stopping José Santos late in the third round at the 2016 Plotforma Cup. Going nearly the full fifteen minutes before closing the show gave him an early example of how his power could hold up as fights stretched out.

Key moments

• The fight lasted longer than his debut and pushed Kopylov deep into round three.
• He still found the knockout with just eight seconds left in the fight.
• The official finish time was 4:52 of round three.