UFC News & FeaturesMiddleweights
Roman Kopylov (10-2, 2-2 UFC) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (11-3, 1-1 UFC)ODDS: Kopylov (-240), Ribeiro (+195)
It took a few years, but Kopylov looks to have finally hit his stride in the UFC. The Russian’s approach was a fairly simple proposition heading into his promotional debut. A tall striker with fast hands, Kopylov would rely on his boxing to outwork and slowly overwhelm his opponents in wars of attrition. However, Kopylov’s first three years in the UFC were marked by multiple injury layoffs and unimpressive performances. Kopylov was a tough out for Karl Roberson and Albert Duraev in terms of sheer durability but found himself consistently either outmaneuvered or outwrestled. Kopylov scored his first win in the UFC in 2022 by outpacing and knocking out Alessio Di Chirico in a fight that allowed him to take advantage of the Italian’s slow and neutralizing style, and a January victory over Punahele Soriano was a much stronger proof of concept that saw his takedown defense look much improved in a sharp performance. Kopylov looks to make it three straight against Ribeiro, who is coming off a solid outing of his own. Ribeiro fit the mold of a lot of Dana White’s Contender Series signees after earning a contract in 2022, as the Brazilian typically got by as a quick and effective knockout artist. Some of Ribeiro’s longer fights showed he could at least carry his power into later rounds, but there was little in terms of other ideas outside of hunting for the knockout. After getting quickly obliterated by Abdul Razak Alhassan in his UFC debut, Ribeiro’s sophomore effort showed an interesting new wrinkle in the form of his wrestling, which was not particularly pretty but did eventually lead him to a finish against Joseph Holmes. When combined with Ribeiro’s striking firepower, that is enough of a change-up to make things intriguing against Kopylov. With that said, if the Russian looks anything like his form in his win over Soriano, he should find similar success stuffing takedowns and pouring on volume. The pick is Kopylov via third-round stoppage.
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