Roman Kopylov (born 4 May 1991) is a Russian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Roman Kopylov was born in Shchebzavod, a small village in the Kemerovo region of Russia, and began his journey in martial arts at the age of 9. His parents, both former athletes, nurtured his passion for hand-to-hand combat. Gradually, Kopylov started winning trophies at various levels, from city to regional and higher-level competitions starting in 2010. He served in the National Guard of the Siberian District where he continued to compete in martial arts. After graduating from a branch of

Kemerovo State University The Kemerovo State University (russian: Ке́меровский госуда́рственный университе́т) (KemSU) was established in 1973 as a successor to Kemerovo Pedagogical Institute. It is a leading educational and scienti ...

in 2014, he ventured into mixed martial arts. Kopylov is a five-time world champion in hand-to-hand

combat sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , olympi ...

, and has also won several European and Russian championships. He has earned degrees in economics and physical education from

and Novokuznetsk Institute. His MMA idol is

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Roman Kopylov began his MMA career in Ufa in April 2016 at the WCSA tournament. His first fight was against Filipe Aiyugono from Guinea. Despite it being his debut, Roman managed to win by unanimous decision after fighting all the rounds. Later in 2016, Roman fought in the League S-70 ring and knocked out a foreign opponent. He maintained careers in both MMA and RB and demonstrated an unmatched level of skill. By the end of 2016, Roman fought Islam Gugov in the DIA, before signing a contract with Fight Nights Global. He defeated Artem Shokalo and Jacob Ortiz, then returned to League S-70 for another victory. He then fought for the Fight Nights Middleweight Championship against Abusupyan Alikhanov, who had a streak of 9 victories. Roman increased his pace round by round, and his opponent's corner gave up after the 4th round. By the end of 2018, Roman won a title fight against the legendary Yasubei Enomoto in a joint tournament between Fight Nights and GTC. Despite Enomoto's impressive track record and experience, Roman's pressure proved too much, and Enomoto lost in the 4th round after a heavy hit to the body. Following this victory, Roman's manager, Alexander Skaredin, started organizing a fight with Magomed Ismailov, but the plans were postponed indefinitely when Magomed left Fight Nights to join ASA.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Later, Kopylov was offered a contract for 4 fights by UFC matchmakers. He was scheduled to fight

Krzysztof Jotko Krzysztof Jotko (born August 19, 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. He has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Orneta, Poland, Jotko was ori ...

in St. Petersburg on April 20, 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 149 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 149'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on April 20, 2019 at Yubileyny Sports Palace in Saint Pete ...

. However, Kopylov pulled out of the bout on March 22 citing injury. Kopylov made his UFC debut against

Karl Roberson Karl William Roberson (born October 4, 1990) is an American former kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life and education Raised in Neptune Township, New Jers ...

on 9 November 2019 at

UFC Fight Night 163 UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar (also known as UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar, UFC Fight Night 163 and UFC on ESPN+ 21) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 9, 201 ...

. He lost the fight via a submission in round three, his first MMA loss. Kopylov was scheduled to replace

Punahele Soriano Punahele Michael Soriano (born November 22, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background As a senior at Kahuku High School in Laie, Hawaii, on the North Sho ...

against

Eric Spicely Eric Benjamin Spicely (born September 29, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler competing in the middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik on 28 March 2020. However, the event was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, leaving the bout was scrapped. His next opportunity was against

Tom Breese Tom Breese (born 26 September 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). A professional competitor since 2010, he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

in Abu Dhabi on 4 October 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana. However, Kopylov was removed from the bout as both he and his coach tested positive for coronavirus upon arrival and had to isolate for 3 weeks. Kopylov was then scheduled to face

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly com ...

on 31 July 2021, at

UFC on ESPN 28 ''UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 28'' and ''UFC Vegas 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 31, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, N ...

. However, Kopylov wasn't able to obtain his US visa in time and the bout was scrapped. Kopylov faced Albert Duraev on 30 October 2021 at

UFC 267 ''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background This event took plac ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kopylov was scheduled to face

Jordan Wright Jordan Michael Wright (born October 7, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. He formely fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Wright started gymnastics at age 4, but after watchin ...

at UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade on 23 April 2022. However, Kopylov withdrew from the bout and was replaced by

Marc-André Barriault Marc-André Barriault (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Middleweight division. He previously competed with TKO Major League MMA where he w ...

. Kopylov faced

Alessio Di Chirico Alessio Di Chirico (born December 12, 1989) is an Italian former mixed martial artist who competed in Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Di Chirico was born in Rome, Italy. He attended University of Fo ...

on 3 September 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

. He won the fight via knockout in round three. Kopylov faced

on 14 January 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 217 ''UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 217'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 75'' and ''UFC Vegas 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 14, 2023, at the ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout after knocking down Soriano with a body kick in the second round. This win earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' bonus. Kopylov was scheduled to face Josh Fremd on 17 June 2023 at

UFC on ESPN 47 ''UFC on ESPN: Vettori vs. Cannonier'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 47'' and ''UFC Vegas 75'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 17, 2023 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, ...

. However, the bout never materialized and Kopylov took on Claudio Ribeiro at UFC 291 on 29 July 2023. Kopylov won the bout via head kick knockout in round two. Kopylov was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez, replacing

Chris Curtis Chris Curtis (born Christopher Crummey; 26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005) was an English drummer and singer who was best known for being with the 1960s Beat music, beat band The Searchers (band), The Searchers. He originated the concept be ...

on September 16, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 227 ''UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 227'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 85'' and ''Noche UFC'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 16, 2023, at th ...

. However, Curtis withdrew due to a rib injury and was replaced by Roman Kopylov. However, Hernandez pulled out of the bout due to a torn ligament and was replaced by Josh Fremd. Kopylov won the fight via body punch knockout in round two. This win earned him the ''

'' award.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(Two times) *

Fight Nights Global AMC Fight Nights (or Fight Nights Global before 2021) is a Russian mixed martial arts organization that previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events. It is one of the largest promotion companies in the world and features some of the top-ra ...

** Fight Nights Middleweight Championship (One time) *** One successful title defence

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Josh Fremd , KO (punch to the body) , UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Claudio Ribeiro , KO (head kick) , UFC 291 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:33 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, TKO (body kick and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:09 ,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Albert Duraev , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:01 ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Yasubey Enomoto , KO (punch to the body) ,

Fight Nights Global 91 Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

, , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:39 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Abusupyan Alikhanov , TKO (corner stoppage) , Fight Nights Global 85 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Luiz Gustavo Dutra , KO (punch) , S-70: Plotforma Cup 2017 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Kobe Ortiz , TKO (corner stoppage) , Fight Nights Global 69 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Artem Shokalo , TKO (punches) , Fight Nights Global 59 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:11 ,

Khimki Khimki ( rus, Химки, p=ˈxʲimkʲɪ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, 18.25 kilometres northwest of central Moscow, and immediately beyond the Moscow city boundary. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station tha ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Islam Gugov , KO (spinning back kick to the body) , ACB 49 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:57 ,

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , José Santos , KO (punch) , S-70: Plotforma Cup 2016 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:52 ,

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Felipe Nsue , Decision (unanimous) , WCSA Combat Ring 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

, Russia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopylov, Roman 1991 births Living people Russian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing sambo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Russian sambo practitioners People from Kemerovo Oblast