Roman Kopylov vs Anthony Hernandez Prediction: Few Believe in the Russian Fighter

On the night of February 18th, Anaheim held a high-profile tournament, UFC 298. It will be opened by the Russian fighter Roman Kopylov and American Anthony Hernandez. The fight will take place in the middleweight division. Hernandez is among the top 15 in the UFC's middleweight division, but Roman Kopylov is not yet one of the strongest.

Roman Kopylov is a world champion and honored master of sport of Russia in close combat. He made his professional MMA debut in 2016 with a split decision victory, but then he rolled up his sleeves and knocked out every other opponent, becoming the Fight Nights Global Champion. Then Roman was called up to the UFC. He got off to a bad start in the league with two losses, but then he improved and knocked out four fighters in a row.

I'll punch and wrestle, keep him from using his strengths, defend against wrestling, and impose my striking technique.

Roman Kopylov

In his last bout, Roman finished Josh Fremd with a body kick, and before that, he beat him up and didn't allow him to do any takedowns to escape the punches. We suspect that the fight with Hernandez will go the same way. He will have to look for a kind of wrestling because he has absolutely nothing to do against Kopylov on the feet.

Anthony Hernandez is very good at boxing and not bad at standing. He is on a four-fight winning streak and is optimistic about the future, dreaming of climbing even higher in the rankings. He hasn't faced any big-name opponents in his career, except for Kevin Holland, who he lost to by a knockout after 39 seconds of the fight in 2020. Recall one more bout - in 2021, Hernandez choked out Rodolfo Viera, the same guy who had just recently finished another Russian puncher, Armen Petrosyan.

The odds are surprising, most likely since bookmakers don't believe Kopylov can avoid the takedown and will have to survive in the parterre. In fact, Hernandez is great at keeping his opponent on the ground and not letting him get up. But the Russian has perfected his jiu-jitsu and defense. It won't be easy for Hernandez to try everything he did in his last fights.

This is a very interesting fight. Roman will be facing a top-15-ranked opponent. I look at the comments, and many people don't believe in him. And that has to do with Hernandez's grappling. But grapplers with submissions and defending submissions have worse stats. They'd rather be on the canvas sooner. And in that respect, a fight with a good freestyle fighter is a lot more dangerous. Roman is ready; he has a good chance of making an even better name in the best league in the world. There's no underestimation. Everything will be calculated, everything will be clear. Kopylov's chances are high.

Alexander Skaredin, Kopylov's manager

When it comes to the parterre, it will be hard for Roman, but he will not let the opponent finish himself. At the same time, both will be tired on the canvas. Anthony can be easily knocked out in the standing as Roman hits accurately, quickly, hard, and painfully. That's why we're willing to risk and bet on the Russian to win by knockout.