Roman Kopylov and Gregory Rodrigues delivered one of the night’s most compelling middleweight clashes at UFC 322 on Saturday, matching Kopylov’s sharp, surgical striking against Rodrigues’ explosive power and finishing instincts.
Kopylov (14-4) entered UFC 322 looking to rebound from his July loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 318, a setback that halted his two-fight surge highlighted by wins over Cesar Almeida and Chris Curtis. For the Russian middleweight, a return to the win column had the potential to push him into the rankings ahead of his next outing.
Rodrigues (17-6) entered UFC 322 fresh off a June TKO win over Jack Hermansson at UFC 317. “Robocop” has built a resume filled with notable victories, including wins over Chris Leroy Duncan, Brad Tavares, and Chidi Njokuani.
Round 1 – Rodrigues met Kopylov in the center with the composure of a seasoned UFC veteran. Thirty seconds in, neither man had thrown a strike, Kopylov was clearly waiting to counter, so the early inactivity made sense.
Rodrigues was the first to open up, unleashing a quick flurry that Kopylov evaded. Moments later, Rodrigues landed a clean straight right to start the scoring. Kopylov responded with steady feints before chopping at the calf.
When Kopylov stepped in, Rodrigues caught him with a short combination. Rodrigues then shot for a single leg, couldn’t secure it, but landed strikes in tight. Seconds later, Kopylov connected with a heavy left hand, prompting Rodrigues to resume forward pressure.
Rodrigues appeared to be leading the dance, landing a knee to the body and initiating another takedown attempt, only for Kopylov to reverse it and put Rodrigues on his back. Rodrigues stayed patient with an open guard as Kopylov tried to land from top position, but the round ended before he could do any significant damage.
Round 2 – Rodrigues connected with a right hand, but Kopylov stood his ground. Sensing momentum, Rodrigues pressed forward behind more right hands, landed a knee to the body, and briefly got taken down before attacking a heel hook. Kopylov scrambled free and returned to his feet quickly.
Rodrigues shot again for a takedown but abandoned it when nothing was there, then went back to throwing heavy punches up top as Kopylov stayed cautious of the level changes.
Rodrigues controlled the round, mixing body shots with head strikes and constantly forcing Kopylov to guess. Kopylov found some success with his jab, but Rodrigues was landing cleaner and heavier.
The right hand continued to be Rodrigues’ best weapon, especially in this round. Kopylov retreated often, trying to find space to reset, but Rodrigues cut him off effectively. Kopylov came close with a head kick late, yet it wasn’t enough to swing the frame.
Rodrigues clearly dominated the round.
Round 3 – Rodrigues was on autopilot and very effective to start with the jabs and right hands. Kopylov continued to fight off the back foot, until he landed a head kick and wobbled the Brazilian for a moment.
Rodrigues fired back with a 1-2, and then fired the single leg, but Kopylov fired away. The momentum seemed to turn after that head kick with Kopylov taking the lead in the dance. Rodrigues continued to fire away, but at nowhere near the pace of power of the first two rounds.
Kopylov began to land on Rodrigues, but the return fire wasn’t a deterrent anymore. Rodrigues stayed active seemingly feeling like he had done enough to win the first two rounds. Just surviving the third round would get him the win.
Kopylov landed a left hand up top and Rodrigues fired back to the body. Kopylov started to walk Rodrigues down. With 10 seconds left the Russian went off throwing everything he could, but couldn’t find the finish.
Official Result: Gregory Rodrigues def. Roman Kopylov via (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
