Order your copy now! UFC 302: Makhachev vs. Poirier airs Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Roman Kopylov teaches Ultimate Fighting Championship’s newest crossover kickboxing star why the sport is called “mixed” martial arts.
During the top prelims at UFC 302 on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, Kopylov (13-3) gave Cesar Almeida (5-1) a taste of what awaits him as he moves up the UFC middleweight division. Normally a kickboxer, Kopylov opted to test “Cesinha’s” unproven grappling style, attempting a takedown in the first minute and landing one minute later, sending the Brazilian down the fence. Almeida quickly got to his feet, but was knocked down by a left punch from Kopylov near the middle of the round. Kopylov got his opponent to his feet, but was open for another takedown attempt late in the bout, and survived the remainder of the round from top position. Almeida regained his footing in the second round, fending off Kopylov’s first few takedown attempts, ducking punches and landing sharp body shots. Kopylov finally managed to score a takedown with two minutes left in the round, but he was unable to inflict any damage or threaten any advantageous position.
In the third round, Almeida came out confident and sharp, landing clean punches on a seemingly exhausted Kopylov. The Russian managed to stave off a well-timed takedown about a minute into the round, but he couldn’t get back on his feet, and after a few warnings, referee Herb Dean had both men stand out with 90 seconds left in the round. But before Almeida could gain enough of an advantage, Kopylov slammed Almeida to the canvas with a simple double-leg takedown. That ended Almeida’s offensive and any chance of a decision win. The judges awarded Kopylov the win by split scores (29-28, 28-29, 30-27), lowering his Octagon record to 5-3. Almeida’s chances of quickly following in the footsteps of former rival Alex Pereira’s footsteps in a UFC title fight fell to 1-1 with the loss a major blow.
In an undercard bout that had been entertaining up to that point, but still waiting for its first showdown, Jairton Almeida (21-3) choked out Alexander Romanov (17-3) in no time at all. Facing a seasoned wrestler over 20 pounds heavier than him, “Marijadinho” didn’t flinch, and within seconds he was shooting for a takedown, dragging the hulking Moldovan to the canvas for a rear-naked choke. Unable to get his arm under Romanov’s chin to choke him, he was forced to let go, but the sheer force of his hold still seemed to hurt Romanov. When he went for the choke again a few minutes later, the tap came quickly, forcing referee Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro to step in at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. Almeida, who lost to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299 in March, got back on track with a quick, dominant win, improving his UFC record to 7-1. Romanov (6-3 UFC) was left reeling after losing three of his last four fights.
Tasked with bouncing back from his first loss in eight years, Grant Dawson (21-2-1) more than accomplished the task, using his superior wrestling skills to produce a dominant performance against Joe Solecki (13-5). When referee Jason Herzog called the lightweights to attack, Dawson immediately pounced on his opponent and quickly caught him in a guillotine choke. A long, tense sequence ensued, with Solecki adjusting his grip and rolling lightly into mount while Dawson tried to stay calm and get out of the hold. Dawson eventually escaped, but Solecki’s choke attempts were the main attack of the round. Dawson didn’t stop wrestling, however, and quickly took down Solecki in the second and third frames. Solecki was brave and tenacious, toying with Matthews with kimuras and sweep attempts from the bottom. However, the decision wasn’t enough to sway the judges, who awarded Dawson the victory 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. With the win, Dawson put his quick and brutal loss to Bobby Green behind him and improved to 9-1-1 in UFC, while Solecki’s two-fight losing streak dropped him to 5-3 in the promotion.
Jake Matthews (20-7) and Phil Rowe (10-5) provided the Newark crowd with another fast-paced exchange of blows in their welterweight undercard bout. An aggressive but clumsy striking battle seemed to favor Rowe in the first round, as he appeared to get a little frustrated with the burly Australian, landing long kicks and punches that broke his nose. However, Matthews showed his strength, scoring with some hard punches in the second round. The first two frames were both close and could have gone to the wire, but Matthews and Rowe made due to their differences, putting up the most entertaining and close round of the fight. Rowe appeared to be having a hard time on Matthews on the ground, getting behind him and going for a choke, but “The Celtic Kid” escaped and took top position before the round was over. The judges scored Matthews the victory with scorecards of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, improving his UFC record to 13-7. Matthews, known for his inconsistency, has had wins and losses in his last seven fights going back nearly four years. Rowe has now lost two straight and is 3-3 since leaving the Contender Series.
In what is arguably the top Fight of the Night contender, Basil Hafez (9-4-1) and Mickey Gall (7-6-1) traded all sorts of offensive moves over three rounds. Though both fighters have experience on the mat (they met in a grappling bout in 2017 before garnering UFC attention), the bout was largely a battle of strikes between the two welterweights. Hafez gained momentum early on, landing a number of hard punches on the local favorite, but as the bout progressed Gall began to throw punches more frequently, likely shaking off the rust from a two-year hiatus. In the few times the two were on the ground, Hafez would usually attempt a takedown, but Gall was able to get to his feet without sustaining any significant damage. “The Habibi” won by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds to improve to 1-1 in UFC action since his brave debut against Jack Della Maddalena last year. Gall went 6-6 inside the Octagon.
Ailin Perez (10-2) used aggressive offense, takedowns and hard strikes to win her bantamweight grudge match against Jocelyn Edwards (13-6). Both fighters were willing to take the fight to the ground, but neither could gain control there, resulting in a lengthy back-and-forth reversal in which both fighters gained full mount for a few seconds before being rolled again. Edwards dominated much of the stand-up action, but the most powerful strike of the bout came in the second round, when Perez landed a spinning backfist that temporarily knocked the Panamanian down. The bout was stopped in the second round when Edwards landed an obvious headbutt while digging into Perez’s guard. Referee Gaspar Oliver warned her, but no points were awarded. In the end, the points deduction didn’t change the outcome of the bout, with Perez winning via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). The Argentine has now won three straight bouts to improve to 3-1 in the UFC, while Edwards now falls to 4-4.
In their 130-pound debut, Andre Lima (9-0) frustrated Mitch Raposo (8-2) with a flurry of leg kicks over the course of three rounds. Having missed the flyweight limit and forced a catchweight, Lima immediately began his kicking attack, forcing Raposo to shift positions frequently. However, Raposo was less effective, and within minutes both calves were clearly in pain, clearly hindering his movements by the end of the bout. The majority of the bout was decided by Raposo struggling to fend off Lima’s kicks and long reach to launch his own attack, and the hoped-for wrestling attack never really materialized. Ultimately, Lima won by split decision, with two 30-27 scorecards and a puzzling 28-29 decision from judge Dave Tirelli. With the win, Lima improved to 2-0 at UFC, while Raposo, who was rushed in for the bout, fell to 1-0. Raposo wasn’t the only one with an inauspicious debut. The Lima vs. Raposo fight was the first to feature UFC’s new glove design and was marred by three jabs to the eye.
