A few days ago, the prestigious American portal MMA Fighting reported that the Russian fighter Roman Kopylov will fight on January 11 against the American veteran Chris Curtis. This information was also confirmed by the “Rat” team, which represents the Russian in the UFC. At first glance, the opponent seems like a real gift for Kopylov: a classic striker who does not really get involved in the fight. I don’t want to use it! And it is with a victory over Curtis that the Bachatsk boy’s title race can begin.
Roman is also known as a master of percussion techniques. Before moving into MMA, Kopylov practiced hand-to-hand combat for 15 years and had great success. In particular, he became a three-time champion of Russia and the world. And in 2016, at the hand-to-hand combat championship of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Russian passed the most serious test of his skills in striking techniques. Then the representative of Bachatsk met on the tatami with former UFC fighter Adlan Amagov. The fight was very close, but Roman was able to win with a slight advantage.
Adlan Amagov
Photo: Josh Hedges/Getty Images
At the professional level, Kopylov regularly demonstrates his stand-up skills, which has earned him the love of mixed martial arts fans around the world and UFC matchmakers. The Russian fighter’s favorite techniques are strong kicks to both the body and the head. He also likes to throw big blows, which can be confirmed by Albert Duraev, who felt the power of this blow better than others. In general, the Russian’s game plan is based on his dominance of the feet.
But Roman’s fighting skills are much weaker than many of his rivals, such as Karl Roberson, the aforementioned Duraev, and Anthony Hernandez. But Kopylov is actively improving his wrestling, as demonstrated by the fight against César Almeida. All of Roman’s takedowns were executed with dignity from a technical point of view, and largely thanks to them, our compatriot managed to win that tenacious fight. The improvement of Roman’s fighting skills was largely influenced by the long training camps in Dagestan.
Let’s remember Kopylov’s beautiful victory:
Kopylov was on the verge of dismissal and now knocks on the door of the top 15. How a Russian conquers the UFC
The Russian fighter also has certain resistance problems. In the same fight with Almeida, at the end of the third round, Román was breathing hard, so he only locked the Brazilian in the clinch and performed takedowns. However, these problems may come to nothing in the next match.
Chris Curtis is a real veteran of MMA, as he has been performing at the professional level for about 15 years and during this time he managed to fight 43 fights. He fought with fighters such as Belal Muhammad, Nassurdin Imavov, Kelvin Gastelum, Jack Hermansson, Magomed Magomedkerimov and others. Chris represents the Xtreme Couture gym, where he trains with Sean Strickland.
Chris Curtis
Photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
The American is a basic striker and mainly demonstrates a boxing style in fights. He especially likes to break the body of his opponents, thanks to which he has repeatedly won victories in his fights. Additionally, Curtis has good defense in wrestling. However, specialized wrestlers like Brendan Allen still easily translated to Chris.
The American’s advantage in fights, in addition to hard body blows, is endurance. He breathes very well and also has the habit of speeding up the pace with each round. It is important to note that Chris has a very strong jaw and can withstand a powerful blow. He lost by knockout only once: on October 11, 2019 against Ray Cooper in the PFL tournament. Therefore, it will be quite difficult to finish it by hand. And Curtis’ experience is simply incredible; In this aspect he definitely surpasses Kopylov.
The entire fight, or most of it, will definitely take place in a standing position. Roman and Chris don’t like to show off their wrestling skills, so you should expect a distance showdown. Kopylov will have serious chances of winning in the event of a three-round fight. In this situation, Curtis simply won’t have time to pick up the pace and start putting pressure on Roman.
But don’t forget about the American’s trump card: the Russian fighter needs to keep Chris at a distance so that he can’t get close to him and fire a burst at him. Kopylov can also use the clinch, but this is dangerous as Curtis can easily catch him when he gets close.
If he wins this fight, Roman will receive a ticket to the top 15 middleweight fighters. Let’s hope that the fight does not fail and Kopylov shows a spectacular performance that can please Dana White. You definitely can do it.
