Roman Kopylov will feel comfortable in a fight with any UFC striker, including an American Sean Strickland and Nigerian Israel Adesanya . The Russian fighter’s manager, Alexander Skaredin, told .
Kopylov will fight with American Josh Fremd on September 16 in Las Vegas as part of the UFC Fight Night tournament. In total, the Russian has 11 victories and two defeats in MMA; Kopylov’s winning streak in the UFC is three fights. Fremd has 11 wins and 4 losses in MMA. In the UFC, Fremd had four fights in which he suffered two defeats and won two victories in his last fights. Last weekend, Strickland defeated Adesanya to become the new UFC lightweight champion.
— A victory over Fremd should allow Kopylov to enter the top 15 of the rankings?
– Well, it’s 100% necessary. We think everything will be fine with Fremd, but what else should be included? In this case, Roman will have four wins in a row… At the moment, he is on a streak of three early victories. In the top 15 there are people like Chris Curtis, who shows a whole new level. In general, we are preparing for a victory, which should put us in the top 15 in the ranking,” Skaredin told .
— Earlier, AMC Fight Nights director Kamil Gadzhiev said that Kopylov would at least certainly be able to impose competition on the same Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
— Level is what you show in battles. I’m not a fan of advances. But in general, I am ready to agree with Kamil’s words. We have to consider that both Strickland and Adesanya are strikers. Therefore, in fights with them it will be 50 to 50. And in fights with these opponents, and in general with attackers of any level, Kopylov will feel calm and confident. At the same time, we are seriously intensifying the struggle. Over time, the list of people in the top 15 of the UFC rankings that we are comfortable fighting will grow. So I can only agree with Kamil’s comments, but I wouldn’t want to get ahead of myself by fulminating: “We’re going to destroy these, we’re going to destroy those.” We go our own way and we succeed.
The UFC Fight Night tournament, in which Roman Kopylov and Valentina Shevchenko will compete, will be broadcast live on on the night of September 17, the broadcast will begin at 05:00 Moscow time, and on Match! Fighter” – from 01:55 Moscow time.
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.
