Roman Kopylov joined the UFC as the AMC Fight Nights heavyweight champion with an 8-0 record. However, the first fights with the Russian in the first league of the world did not work out – in November 2019 in Moscow Kopylov lost earlier than expected against Karl Roberson, in October 2021 – in Abu Dhabi against Albert Duraev.
In September 2022, in Paris, the Russian finally won his first victory in the UFC, beating the Italian Alessio di Chirico earlier than expected. According to the current agreement, Kopylov had a fight in the organization, on which his future fate depended. And the Russian did not disappoint.
On Sunday night in Las Vegas, Kopylov defeated American Punahele Soriano in the second round on the main card of the first UFC tournament in 2023, securing a new contract with the league. It was about the new deal that spoke with the fighter’s manager Alexander Skaredin, who at the same time welcomed the departure of heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou from the UFC.
“WE HAVE SEEN THIS KOPYLOV NOVEL THAT YOU NEED TO SEE ALL THIS TIME”
– Roma performed superbly! – Skaredin has started communicating with . – As someone interested in MMA, I got really high. And ten times more pleasant than it was a duel with the participation of Kopylov. We saw this Roman Kopylov, who we should have seen all this time. I hope Roma has finally calmed down psychologically.
Even before the fight, I told him: “Roma, I ask you – don’t expect anything, work by yourself, that’s your story. When you work alone, nobody can do anything to you. As a result, he won with brilliance and confidence against a strong and good opponent Roma took the bonus ($50,000) and got a new contract with the UFC.
– Can the conclusion of a new agreement with the league be considered a fait accompli?
– The contract will be definitively signed. Immediately after the fight, we spoke with Mick Maynard (UFC Vice President), and Dana White also invited Roma to his home. The UFC chief was very impressed with Kopylov’s win. The fact that we sign a new contract is 100%, and we will work out all the details, I think, before the next tournament. In other words, we plan to finish this story in the next week.
It is clear that the conditions will certainly be better compared to the first contract. Of this we have no doubt. An open question – will this deal be for four or six fights? But we all understand that Roma are not going to go anywhere (laughs) or try other things. Our target is the UFC. We see that this is one of the most promising and non-standard middleweights. In my opinion, the UFC is where Roma should be.
– At the same time, Kopylov is not in the top 15 of the middleweight rankings.
– Exactly. We are now faced with the next task of our great work. The new contract will help a lot. Let’s be objective, in particular the fight with Soriano was a fight for survival in the UFC. Kopylov’s future depended on him. We had a clear understanding – we need a bright and quick win. Roma successfully coped with this task. Now we have other goals – to get into the top 15. But that will depend on what kind of opponents the UFC will give. After all, Soriano was not in the rankings. Usually 1-2 battles are needed to enter the leaderboards.
– Maybe you should ask the league for top 15 rivals?
“We certainly will. Roma is a very modest guy, but now he will breathe a little, we will breathe and sit down at the negotiating table – we will manage to figure out what we want for the foreseeable future. And it comes down to challenges, etc.
– Don’t you consider Kopylov’s lack of media activity a minus?
At the moment, I don’t think so. For now, other tasks have been prioritized. At the same time, Roma social networks are growing even without it (without activity). I think it’s a gradual process. Now that we are confident in the new contract and the continuation of the story with the UFC, we can set ourselves the goal of increasing the media.
– When is Kopylov’s next fight scheduled?
‘While it’s hard to say. But we would like to come back as soon as possible. But remember that Roman is unprepared in the US, so he needs time for flights and acclimatization. It would therefore be optimal to hold the next fight in April.
“NGANOU WILL HAVE MANY OFFERS, INCLUDING FROM RUSSIA. BUT THE UFC HAS NOT LOST ANYTHING OVERALL FROM THEIR START”
– The most resounding news in the MMA world on Sunday is the departure of Cameroonian Francis Ngannou from the UFC.
– The same story with the UFC lasts two years. For me, Ngannou… He burst into the UFC with flying colors, he’s a champion and so on. But his way of doing business is very strange. Let’s be frank – he “dumped” the man who made him who he is today. I’m talking about Fernando Lopez (the coach literally found the Cameroonian on the street, now Lopez is working with Cyril Gan – “”).
I’m sure the UFC has set maximum conditions for Ngannou to stay. But greed took over. And so he left. And what will he do? By the way, I managed to read on that Alexander Emelianenko wanted a boxing match with him. Obviously, Francis will have something to take care of (laughs).
– Do you believe in the sign of Emelianenko – Ngannou?
– Of course not. But Ngannou will have a large number of such proposals and encroachments. I think the Cameroonian will have offers from kulatchka, pop-MMA, including Russia. The question is, will he accept these offers? And the UFC without Ngannou overall will not lose anything. UFC is an assembly line for producing MMA stars. Overall, the UFC has definitely lost nothing with his departure. It’s clear that Ngannou has his own fanbase, but on an organization-wide scale, that’s not a question at all.
– Is there any information about the next fights of the Rat team?
– Irina Alekseeva is expected to fight in April. There are negotiations on the opponent, but she finally got the fight. We have to focus and prepare for this fight. Now she is in Diana Avsaragova’s camp, helping her prepare. And Nikita Krylov will have an important fight in the UFC at the end of February (on February 25 in Las Vegas he will fight with the American Ryan Spann – ).
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
