Cesar Almeida and Roman Kopylov at the UFC 302 weigh-in. Photo by Dylan Napoleone/Cageside Press
The headline bout at UFC 302 in Newark on Saturday featured a middleweight matchup between Cesar Almeida and Roman Kopylov.
On a big night for the division (Sean Strickland faced Paulo Costa in the co-main event), Kopylov was looking to bounce back after a four-fight winning streak was ended by a loss to Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, while former kickboxer Almeida improved to 6-0 and was looking to follow in the footsteps of kickboxers turned mixed martial artists Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, the latter of whom he has faced in the ring three times.
The fight started early with both fighters trading kicks to the body and legs in the center of the Octagon. Kopylov returned the favor by landing a few upper strikes while Almeida went for jabs to the body. Kopylov pushed Almeida into the pocket, then backed off slightly to land a nice body kick. At the end of the exchange, Kopylov landed a nice takedown and landed a few strikes as Almeida tried to get up against the cage. As both fighters got to their feet, Kopylov landed a big straight left that sent his opponent to the canvas. Kopylov followed his opponent to the ground, landed a few nice hammerfists, and got back up. Kopylov landed another takedown a few seconds later and was caught in Almeida’s guard as time expired in the first round.
The second round started with Almedia again trying to land kicks from long range, with mixed success. Against the cage, Kopylov landed another hard counter mid-leg kick from Almedia. With 90 seconds left, Kopylov pressed his opponent against the cage and Almedia threatened a guillotine before landing a hard knee to the body. Kopylov controlled his wrist and broke away, and the two were back in space again. Roman’s striking started to look a bit strained as Cesar started to increase his attacking volume a little. Luckily, Kopylov was able to land a timely takedown and land some hits in his opponent’s modified guard. With about a minute left in the round, Almedia was able to regain full guard and land some small strikes from underneath. Roman was barely moving in top position.
The final round began with Kopylov outside the ring, his opponent heating up and landing some slick counterattacks. A minute into the round, Cesar made surgical moves with his hands on his exhausted opponent’s body. Kopylov again landed a well-timed takedown in his opponent’s full guard. The two fighters were in the center of the Octagon, with Almeida attempting a hip toe to get to his feet. With just a few minutes left in the round, the referee warned Kopylov to keep moving, and a few seconds later, both fighters were instructed to stand. Kopylov, looking very tired at this point, again attempted multiple takedowns and was successful in getting his opponent back on his back.
Kopylov briefly got to his feet with seconds remaining, but Cesar remained on his back. Roman was able to jump into half guard and stay there until the bell rang to end the bout. Both judges awarded Kopylov the win, which was realistically a clear victory, but the questionable downvote trend continued on the night.
Official result: Roman Kopylov defeats Cesar Almeida via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
