New York, NY — Middleweight Roman Kopylov might be coming off a loss, but he’s been booked into a high-profile match-up with Gregory Rodrigues at UFC 322 this Saturday nonetheless.
Kopylov (14-4) lost a unanimous decision to Paulo Costa back in July, but he’s ready to move on from the setback against the former title challenger.
“It did not go my way, but it’s not something we’re going to put our heads down about. We’re going to keep training, keep moving forward,” he said during Wednesday’s UFC 322 media day, with Cageside Press in attendance. Kopylov hinted that with the Costa fight, there may have been reasons behind the loss, including the bout being rescheduled more than once. “This time around, none of that was an issue. We had a good camp, we got prepared, and hopefully just moving forward.”
The narrative ahead of the fight with “Robocop” this Saturday has been about the more technical approach of Kopylov, in contrast with Rodrigues’ tendency to get into brawls. It’s a comparison Kopylov for one agrees with.
“I think so. So we’re going to play a game with him. We’re going to be sly with him.”
That said, while it’s striker versus striker, Kopylov hasn’t neglected to work on his ground game either. “We’re definitely not forgetting about the wrestling aspect of the fight.”
Watch the full UFC 322 media day appearance by Roman Kopylov above.
