“Now you have to give an interview and you’re also losing weight… Mom understands that.” Kemerovo hand-to-hand fighter puts on a show at the UFC

Roman Kopylov became the main transformation of Russian MMA in the 2022/23 season. Entered the UFC as a Fight Nights champion, lost two fights in 3.5 years, went to train in Makhachkala and it… worked. Kopylov’s exceptional skills, acquired in hand-to-hand combat in the army, were derusted and honed. And if earlier Roman was noticeably silent in interviews, then against the background of four knockouts in a row they began to listen to him with great interest and he began to speak a little more cheerfully. Kopylov jokes that his power is in his curls, shouting “Makhachkala is power!” after performances and recounts how his mother brought him into melee because his father worked in a mine as a demolition worker. Four days before the new challenge of UFC 298 in Anaheim, he talks about:

— On February 1, we learned that you will fight in the tournament on the 17th against the 14th middleweight number, Anthony Hernández. Can we consider launching into battle at short notice?

– Yes, it’s not exactly short notice. At that time I had been in Makhachkala for two weeks, so I was already involved and just at the height of it, they said there was a fight. I accepted this happily. To be honest, I left home a little early in early January, I thought they were going to give me something. And you see how well everything went.

— How many fights have you watched of your opponent?

— I usually watch the last two fights, and I already draw some conclusions from them.

– Which?

– Nothing special: he fights more and that’s it.

— In December, you fought according to the rules of combat with Magomed Ismailov? There was some advantage, he controlled you for a while, in my opinion, he switched to mount. Is it possible that after that you started to have doubts about your fight?

– No, it seems to me, on the contrary, this fight gave me more confidence – it seems to me that I fought with Magomed with dignity. And now we have more serious guys in the room. And there, well, there was a fight, but there, it’s an open mat, there is no net, we worked in the middle. In MMA, the conditions will be completely different. I think it’s incomparable, it’s a different profession.

– Can you attack today with wrestling techniques: use a hand triangle, a choke, a classic back triangle?

— Sometimes it works in training. I think it depends on the position, the circumstances, if there is an opportunity then why not. Of course, during training we try everything: chokes, triangles and everything in between.

– But, let’s say, during this camp, did you force anyone to knock at the entrance?

– No, I probably defended myself more this time, I just adapted to my opponent. I wanted to feel everything so that there were no surprises in the battle, we worked more on these aspects.

—Are you not going to the jiu-jitzer gym or did you ask someone to come to your gym?

– No, there are enough guys in the gym, both grapplers and strikers, who will both wrestle and beat you. There’s something for everyone, I don’t need to go anywhere. Well…I think so.

— When you have trouble with your curls, don’t you get scolded or asked to put on a cap or band-aid to keep your hair out of your face?

– No, no, I don’t ask anyone to shave their beard. There is also hair everywhere. I endure and let them endure.

— You have participated a lot in amateur hand-to-hand and sambo combat competitions. Doesn’t it happen during departmental competitions that Roman Kopylov, with a record of 8-0 or 10-0 in MMA, fights with a cadet from the school who goes to pankration Monday-Wednesday-Friday?

— There are a lot of fights there, and in any case, it happens from the first fights, we come across less experienced guys, without success.

— Is it true that they can come and ask you to work carefully with someone?

– Yes, yes, it happens.

– And who can fight with you: an adult man who trained once, a cadet who trains for himself?

– No, there are no adults there. On the contrary, the guys are young, just starting out and don’t have any competitive experience yet. Either military universities, or simply a person who just studied not long ago, for example, he won in Siberia, arrived in Russia, but his level is still not enough. There, during the draw, last year’s finalists are divided into different subgroups. And the rest – as you encounter it.

But even if I am not asked to play for a youngster, as usually happens, if I see that my opponent is a little weaker and somewhere I can inflict damage on him, I am not a supporter of this. I just carefully and quickly score points, for example 10-0 and I win. Just don’t hit hard, that’s all. Why kill him there, take away his desire. Tomorrow you leave this sport, and he might rise and continue further than if you knocked him out now, did something, gave him some sort of injury, and he would leave the sport completely.

— You lost to Azamat Murzakanov when you decided to fight in the “absolute” (a tournament where fighters of different weight categories can fight), and you lost earlier than expected (the current undefeated fighter of the UFC fights in a weight category higher than Kopylov. — “” ). Did this defeat have a big impact on you?

— It was unpleasant, but yes, it’s not my weight category, the opponent was heavier. Basically… an ordinary defeat.

— If “absolute” were possible in the UFC, do you think a middleweight could beat a heavyweight?

– I think so. The main thing is the level of preparation and luck. A middleweight is faster and lighter on his feet anyway. If you succeed, you can exhaust him, postpone the fight and not miss the blows – then you can take points. Or you can burn out and get caught.

—Would you like to fight with Tai Tuivasa for a good sum?

– More likely. For a good amount, everyone would probably fight. Even on the street you will approach a person and say: “This is how much for you. » It seems to me that many will answer: “No problem, let’s go.” You understand that they will definitely not kill you. We are trained guys, you will take damage, so what?!

— You train in Dagestan, and many note that martial arts are very popular there, there are a lot of guys in the sections. What is the current state of your section in Kemerovo? Does it still exist?

– Yes, yes, in Bachatsky, of course, it still exists. Ilya Anatolyevich, Honored Coach of Russia, my first coach, there is also Konstantin Vyacheslavovich – a young man, we trained together, he now trains there with us. Everything is the same, everything is in the same process: the young people, the juniors… It’s true, there are few men who come.

— Do the children come to training? Isn’t it true that everyone plays computers?

– In fact, there is a kind of decline. We used to compete against each other, but now when I’m at home, I’m at the gym all the time and I’m watching, I’m like, “Oh my God, where is everyone?” And, to be honest, it’s not just in Bachatsky, it’s everywhere. No matter which coaches you talk to, they all say that some current generations are weak. Phones, gadgets and social media take up more time than sports.

– You said your mother took you to the clinch, and now, during the week of the fight, you can call her and talk to her?

– Yes, but we write off more. She doesn’t interfere or distract me. I have to register, then collect things, do other things. Now I have to talk to you, give an interview, you lose a little more weight. Mom knows it. Everything is on the Internet, she knows everything that happens to me.

– In other words, thanks to our talks, she can also learn something about you, right?

– Yes, yes, I think she knows everything.

Live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.