On the night of September 16-17, Russian fighter Roman Kopylov will perform at the UFC Fight Night tournament. In the middleweight division he will fight Josh Fremd. Now Kopylov is on a streak of three victories and, thanks to his brilliant results, the representative of the Russian hinterland is gaining popularity in the best league in the world.
Roman was born in the village of Shchebzavod, Kemerovo region. There he spent his childhood and in the fifth grade he moved to another town in the region: Bachatsky. It was this place that became Kopylov’s home.
“The usual childhood of a village boy: football, hide-and-seek, sports section. I remember my parents’ advice: “Keep going, never give up!” When I entered the section, the coach became more involved in this. “He prepared me, helped me and believed in me,” Kopylov said.
Roman’s parents played sports in the past: his father was a wrestler and his mother was a volleyball player; this predetermined Kopylov’s athletic childhood. In Bachatskoye, he and his companions arrived at Yuri Marchenko’s hand-to-hand combat section.
It was in hand-to-hand combat that Roman began to develop: first he won regional competitions, and then reached the All-Russian level. In 2010, Kopylov won the prize at the Russian Championship and a year later he won the World Championship for the first time. At the same time, Roman served in the army, after which he became an officer of the Russian Guard and now has the rank of lieutenant. The future UFC fighter also participated in several departmental hand-to-hand combat tournaments, where he repeatedly became the winner of various competitions.
Great interview with Roman Kopylov:
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How was the UFC bonus “stolen” and why is it great in Dagestan? Interview with Roman Kopylov
Since 2016, Kopylov began performing in mixed martial arts. In his first fights, Roman jumped between middleweight and light heavyweight, but after four wins and signing a contract with Fight Nights Global, he decided to continue his career in the middleweight division. It was in this division that Kopylov managed to become league champion and defend the title. Subsequently, with an 8-0 record, Roman signed a contract with the UFC.
The journey in the best league in the world did not start in the best way for Kopylov, to put it mildly. In his debut, Roman lost to Karl Roberson by choke in the Moscow tournament and then lost to his compatriot Albert Duraev in the Abu Dhabi tournament. Both fights showed that Roman needs to work on his wrestling. And, of course, when you want to intensify the fight, you have to go to Dagestan, which is what Kopylov did. By the way, at one time even Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov spoke about Roman’s high potential and invited him to Dagestan. There Roman began to prepare for his next fights in the UFC, and the result was immediate.
“The guys seem unknown, but they offer so much competition that you think: ‘Why don’t you fight in the best leagues in the world, or at least in some Russian ones?’ In the gym they give competitive sparring sessions. In Dagestan it is comfortable, “The result is obvious, as they say. Three victories since he started training with Rasul Magomedaliev in Universal Fighters. The guys there are good, they have a very brotherly and warm attitude, everyone helps each other,” said Roman Kopylov in an interview. with the Championship.
Kopylov scored three knockouts in ten months: first he knocked out Alessio Di Chirico and Punahele Soriano, and in the last fight he completely knocked out Claudio Ribeiro with a powerful high kick. They began to pay attention to Kopylov, Dana White himself praised the Russian fighter and, after his victory over Ribeiro, Kopylov challenged Sean Strickland. Yes, Strickland is now the new UFC champion and at the time he was ranked fifth in the rankings.
More details about Kopylov’s last fight:
Kopylov is destroying the UFC! Roman achieved a third consecutive victory and challenged Strickland to a fight
Instead of Strickland, Kopylov received Josh Fremd, who is on a two-win streak, as an opponent. Success in the upcoming fight will definitely help Roman establish himself in the top 15 of the UFC middleweight and expect great prospects.
It’s interesting that Roman didn’t experience any star fever, or even hints of it. In addition, after his brilliant victories in the strongest league in the world, Kopylov returns to his homeland, to Bachatsky. There, Roman has long become a real celebrity, but this does not in the least prevent him from leading a normal and modest life in the Russian hinterland. Here he rests his soul: he fishes, drives a UAZ, talks with friends. And he dreams of glorifying his native place all over the world, because his cherished goal is the championship belt.
“At home we swim, we fish, we develop the fishery, we spend time with my family. Everything is as always. As for my career, of course, I dream of a belt, I do everything for it. You see, we are calling for serious fighters, we want to test our strength. The coach says he will make me champion, I fully trust him. Every fighter pursues this goal, I am no exception. I would like to climb this peak, it is a huge dream. For little Bachatsky, where I am, this will be a historic moment if everything comes true,” Roman Kopylov noted in an interview with the Championship.
