Roman Yuryevich Kopylov[2] (born 4 May 1991) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
[3] Roman Kopylov was born in Shchebzavod, a small village in the Kemerovo region of Russia, and began his journey in martial arts at the age of 9.
[4] Kopylov is a five-time world champion in hand-to-hand combat sambo, and has also won several European and Russian championships.
[5] He has earned degrees in economics and physical education from Kemerovo State University and Novokuznetsk Institute.
[4] By the end of 2016, Roman fought Islam Gugov in the DIA, before signing a contract with Fight Nights Global.
[10] Kopylov was scheduled to replace Punahele Soriano against Eric Spicely at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik on 28 March 2020.
[13] However, Kopylov was removed from the bout as both he and his coach tested positive for coronavirus upon arrival and had to isolate for 3 weeks.
[17] Kopylov was scheduled to face Jordan Wright at UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade on 23 April 2022.
[22] He won the fight via technical knockout after knocking down Soriano with a body kick in the second round.
[27] Kopylov was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez, replacing Chris Curtis on 16 September 2023, at UFC Fight Night 227.
[31] Kopylov faced Anthony Hernandez, replacing injured Ikram Aliskerov, on 17 February 2024, at UFC 298.
[38] In a competitive bout, Kopylov won the fight by a head kick knockout with one second left in the third round.