Arena: UFC Apex.
Las Vegas, the United States.
12.01.2025 03:00
Roman Kopylov, a Russian fighter, will be facing Chris Curtis in the main card of the UFC Vegas 101 tournament in the US on 12th January.
Get Your Sign-Up Bonus!Roman Kopylov
Roman Kopylov is a Merited Master of Sport in hand-to-hand combat and a former AMC Fight Nights champion. He's been competing in the UFC since 2019, failing two fights in a row at the start, but getting better as he's gone on – he's only lost once in his last six. Roman's a big name in the striking style, and if he wins, it's almost always by knockout. But his last two fights have been a bit worrying. First, he lost by submission to Anthony Hernandez, and then he beat Cesar Almeida by split decision. But the preparations are going on as usual, with only optimistic notes coming out of Kopylov's team, while his opponent's staff is a bit hysterical, accusing the Russian of espionage. Curtis has his work cut out, Kopylov is serious and ambitious for 2025.
Chris is on the short side, but he's a beast when he's on the mat. He's got loads of experience and he's a real all-rounder. I respect his skills. He's fought some big names before and if I can get past him, I'll show I'm one of the best. Curtis comes across as aggressive, and I'm pretty keen for this bout. The last one showed me what it's like to push myself to the limit in a real slog. I always try to finish fights early, but it's not so easy with the best of the best.
Chris Curtis
Chris Curtis, like Roman Kopylov, prefers to fight on his feet, but doesn't look confident in the parterre. He was once a champion of the local American leagues Absolute Action MMA and CES MMA. But he joined the UFC in 2021 and has been performing here with mixed success - five victories and three defeats. Chris' last two bouts ended with split decisions: a win over Marc-Andre Barriault and a loss to Brandan Allen. He's not as good as he used to be, age is taking its toll. So, Curtis of five years ago is nothing like the Curtis that steps into the cage now.
Expert Betting Tips
We'll watch some kickboxing, unless Roman Kopylov suddenly doesn't want to fight (which is unlikely, given he spent so much time at the Dagestan training camp). We don't expect the outcome to end with a judges decision here, so we're counting on an early finish in Roman's favour . We think the fight will go like this: Kopylov will use a mix of moves, focusing on body blows, which will affect his opponent's speed and endurance. Once the 37-year-old Curtis starts to slow down, it'll be pretty likely that the bout will end.
Other predictions
