This past Saturday on the main card of UFC Vegas 101, we saw a fun middleweight showdown between two guys who were looking to try and climb back into the rankings at 185. Roman Kopylov (14-3) was looking for his second straight win as he took on “The Action Man” Chris Curtis (31-12).
Curtis had lost two in a row so he desperately needed to try and pickup a win on Saturday night. Given the styles of both men, I really figured we’d see a standup war between these two. While Curtis does have wrestling in his back pocket, it’s not his style to use it and we know that Kopylov is a great striker. Turns out, that’s exactly the type of fight we got.
Through two rounds, these two were slugging it out. Kopylov really started strong in the first round, but it was Chris Curtis who took things over a bit in the second round. Entering the third round, Curtis was the betting favorite as it seemed that Kopylov was fading in terms of his cardio.
However, Kopylov caught his second wind and really had a strong third round which saw him land a takedown. Late in the round, Kopylov dropped Curtis with a head kick and the referee stopped the fight with one second to go. I don’t agree with the decision to stop it, but the result would’ve been the same as that drop secured the final round and the win for Roman Kopylov at UFC Vegas 101.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 101?
This was a huge win for Roman Kopylov to continue climbing up the ranks. Kopylov made his octagon debut back in 2019 and he had a perfect professional record of 8-0. However, he lost his first two fights. Since then, he’s gone now 6-1 with the lone loss coming against Anthony Hernandez last February.
Since that loss, he’s won two fights in a row and now he’s knocking on the door of the middleweight rankings. I think the UFC is going to give him a top fifteen opponent for his next fight. So, who should that top fifteen opponent be? I think there are two great options for Kopylov.
One option and I think the best option would be Michel Pereira. Pereira came back to earth a little after losing to Anthony Hernandez following a scorching start to his middleweight run. Pereira is currently ranked fifteenth and I think that could be a great option. Paulo Costa could be another option for the UFC to look at next.