Brazil’s Tulio was 2-1 under the UFC banner, and was aiming to rebound from a loss to Christian Leroy Duncan.

To open round one, the two middleweights engaged in a striking affair, both trading low kicks to start the fight. It was clear Tulio was looking for the knockout from the opening round, whiffing on a number of overhands before Kopylov returned with a nice kick to the body.

Roman Kopylov did a good job of managing his distance early, dashing in for quick combinations to the body while using an assortment of kicks. Tulio found some success behind his left jab, though, working in a sneaky roundhouse that partially landed to the head of Kopylov as he took a lead in the striking numbers in round one. With around thirty seconds left, Kopylov started finding more consistent shots, finishing off the round with a flying knee that nearly landed on the chin of the Brazilian.

With Tulio likely banking the first round, a much more urgent Kopylov came out of the corner, landing a quick check hook on Tulio to open the second round. Tulio peppered his jab in response, but Kopylov opened up with a series of combinations that gave the Russian an early lead in round two. Tulio, still hunting for the finish, kept on with his power shots, opening up Kopylov around his left eye.

It didn’t feel as if Tulio had smashed Kopylov with a massive shot that cut him open, but with around two minutes left in the second round, Kopylov was wearing an unreal amount of damage on his face. Then, the tide turned completely out of nowhere. Kopylov dropped Tulio with a right jab followed by a straight left, then continued to swarm the injured Brazilian, knocking him to the ground again. Surprisingly, Kopylov engaged in the clinch to end the round, despite having Tulio exactly where he wanted him. As the round ended, Kopylov held on as a clear 1-1 fight moved into the third round.

Round three opened with another massive shot by Roman Kopylov, knocking Tulio to the ground again, this time with a beautiful left hook. Kopylov took his opportunity, jumping on Tulio to gain an advantage in the grappling and secure some control time.

Marco Tulio was able to return to his feet fairly quickly, though the Brazilian was chasing for the remainder of the five minutes. Slashing from range with body shots, Kopylov stayed on the outside, avoiding the big exchanges until the final 10 seconds, where the two traded power blows as the horn sounded.

A clear 29-28 victory was awarded to the Russian, Roman Kopylov, as the middleweight gets back in the win column over Marco Tulio. Kopylov moves to 15-5 and 7-5 during his UFC career, while Tulio faces his second consecutive loss, dropping to 14-3 and 2-2 under the UFC banner.

Official Result: Roman Kopylov def. Marco Tulio by unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)

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As first reported by ESPN Brasil, Marco Tulio (14-2) will face off against Roman Kopylov (14-5) at the event, set for the Prudential Center on May 9, 2026. The bout takes place at middleweight.

Promotion officials have yet to officially announce the event.

Kopylov has recently been seen in the gym, already in fight camp. The Russian is looking to shake off just the second two-fight losing streak of his career, which has seen him drop back-to-back fights against Paulo Costa and Gregory “Robocop” (or “Robobama,” if you prefer) Rodrigues.

Both bouts went the distance. Both Costa and Rodrigues sit inside the UFC’s top 15 at 185lbs, though Kopylov, who once resided there as well, has dropped out of the rankings.

Tulio has posted a 2-1 record since winning his way into the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. He suffered his first loss under the UFC banner in November, when he was stopped by Christian Leroy Duncan with a spinning back fist.

Marco Tulio’s first two fights for the organization saw him pick up victories over Ihor Potiera and Tresean Gore.

Only one other fight has been reported for UFC 328; that sees Ateba Gautier take on Osman Diaz.

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Randy Brown

Gabriel Bonfim slumped Randy Brown with a nasty knee to end the UFC Vegas 111 main event in the second round on Saturday. The finish earned Bonfim a performance bonus (though some cried foul) and brings Brown to a 14-7, .500 record, with the UFC. Randy is 1-2 in his last three fights.

Randy’s next fight should be against Andreas Gustafsson. Andreas is just 1-1 with the UFC but has already shown a lot in the octagon. Gustafsson defeated Khaos Willams via unanimous decision in his debut back in June. Rinat Fakhretdinov took less than 60 seconds to stop Andreas back in September. Rinat actually was supposed to take on Gabriel Bonfim earlier this year before withdrawing. Both fighters suffered rough stoppages within a few months of each other and though the timing isn’t optimal, it could definitely work (even if Andreas potentially gets a fight in before the matchup). This would be a good next fight for Brown to get another shot against a decent prospect.

Brown’s next fight: Andreas Gustafsson 

Matt Schnell

Joseph Morales snapped up a guillotine to submit Matt Schnell early in the fight in the co main event of UFC Vegas 111. Rough outcome for Schnell as he is now 7-8, 1 NC with the UFC. Schnell essentially saved his spot on the roster back in April with his win over Jimmy Flick, prior to that- Schnell had lost three in a row.

Matt’s next fight should be against Alessandro Costa. Alessandro is a 2022 Contender Series product that has gone 2-3 with the promotion since. Both of his victories have been finishes and performance bonus earning as he’s a high action kill or be killed type of fighter. Costa was last in the cage back in September when he was finished in the final round of his fight with Aiden Coria via strikes.

Schnell and Costa were actually scheduled to fight last September but Costa withdrew from the bout. Matt is now 1-1 while Alessandro is 0-1 since the fight fell through. The matchup should be revisited since it still makes sense and would be a guaranteed banger- though both men aren’t doing so hot with the UFC currently.

Schnell’s next fight: Alessandro Costa

Muslim Salikhov

Uros Medic won a shootout against Muslim Salikhov on Saturday, finding the 41-year-old’s chin and stopping the fight in 63 seconds. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Muslim who is now 9-5 with the promotion. Muslim had even earned two performance bonuses during that three-fight win streak.

Khaos Williams would be an excellent next opponent for Muslim to take on. Salikhov is at the do or die point of his career. Gving him matchups such as Uros or Khaos isn’t too much for the “King of Kung Fu” to handle. Khaos is 6-4 within the UFC and is currently on a two-fight losing skid. Williams last fought in June when he dropped a unanimous decision to Andreas Gustafsson. The timing for this matchup, wouldn’t be the greatest, unfortunately. But Khaos shares opponents with Muslim and was supposed to take on Uros Medic himself earlier this year. These two are right in the same wheelhouse and both are extremely dangerous strikers with different styles and weapons.

Salikhov’s next fight: Khaos Williams

Ismael Bonfim

Chris Padilla slowly wore down and beat up Ismael Bonfim before eventually scoring the finish late in round two. With the loss, Ismael falls to 2-3 with the UFC. To add insult to injury, Bonfim missed weight ahead of the bout- by 5lbs., it’s the second time he’s missed weight with the promotion.

Ismael is in a tough spot as he’s dangerously close to falling into the territory of being kept on the UFC roster just to stay in good graces with the other Bonfim brother. Ismael needs to make weight as a jump to welterweight might not be feasible either. Good next fight for Bonfim would be against Bolaji Oki. Bolaji was last in action back in September when he was finished in the second round of his bout against Mason Jones. The 2023 Contender Series veteran is 2-2 with the UFC and has had a similar career to Bonfim, albeit without the weight cutting issues. This would be a solid matchup that’s winnable for Bonfim as long as the weight cut goes well.

Bonfim’s next fight: Bolaji Oki 

Marco Tulio

Christian Leroy Duncan put on a masterful striking display before finishing Marco Tulio with a spinning backfist and a follow-up barrage to open the main card of UFC Vegas 111. The finish earned CLD a performance bonus as he handed Tulio just the second loss of his career and his first within the UFC.

Tulio’s next fight should be against Michel Pereira. Despite the outcome on Saturday, Marco remains a bright prospect. Revisiting his cancelled fight from August against Michel- a solid opponent, for a potential back-and-forth slug fest. Pereira is 9-5 with the UFC and has lost his last three, most recently to Kyle Daukus back in August. He’s high-octane thrill, wide open at all times and Tulio would provide an excellent matchup. Not to mention, Pereira has seen some ranked fighters and been ranked himself, solid fight to keep Marco in the mix and against good competition.

Tulio’s next fight: Michel Pereira 

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Saturday’s tilt found Tulio at 2-0 in the UFC through two outings, but he was facing adversity early, cut open during a grinding sequence along the fence early in the opening round. CLD was pressing the action early, forcing Tulio to tie things up. Tulio would fire knees to the thigh of Duncan, but CLD had underhooks and was able to reverse.

Late in the round, Tulio would get Duncan down, but CLD scrambled up and landed a takedown of his own, getting into side control, then mount, then taking the back and finishing the round strong with both hooks in.

Duncan continued to bring the head in round two, catching Tulio with a right hand. CLD himself was showing some damage around one eye, but was still the fresher fighter. Tulio continued to tie things up, struggling with the offense of Christian Leroy Duncan. In control, Tulio fired a knee, then a shoulder strike, but wound up reversed anyway. Duncan re-engaged, and fired an elbow. A spinning back fist missed for CLD. A second one did not! It landed clean, and Tulio was rocked! A left and a right landed, and Tulio slumped forward. One more strike would landed on an already defeated Tulio as CLD claimed victory in Vegas.

That’s three straight wins now for Duncan, who puts his name in the running for a Performance of the Night bonus after winning one last time out.

Official Result: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Marco Tulio by KO (spinning back fist and punches), Round 2, 3:20

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En route to knockout victory, improving him to 2-0 in the promotion, Tulio put on a dominant performance, all while dealing with an injured and possibly broken hand sustained early in the bout.

“I just felt the right thumb kind of like, spun a little bit. I didn’t want to tell my corners between the first and the second round, but I ended up telling them,” Tulio told Cageside Press following the fight at the Kaseya Center. “I just kind of pulled it to put it in place, but that’s what it was. It happened in the first round, and ended up telling them and fought through the second with it.”

Tulio has now won 10 straight fights dating to his time on the regional circuit, his last loss, and in fact only loss, coming in 2018. With two victories already in 2025 he’s hoping to stay busy. “I want to be a very active worker in this company, and perhaps two more fights this year.”

With that in mind, Tulio called out Marvin Vettori on Saturday. There’s no personal beef there, just a good fight as the Brazilian sees it. “I think that he’s a guy I really would like to face, I think he just came out of a war with Dolidze, and I think we can put on a show for everybody,” Marco Tulio said when asked about the match-up.

Watch Marco Tulio’s full UFC 314 post-fight media appearance above.

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Tulio, a two-time Contender Series vet, was coming off his UFC debut in January, a first-round thrashing of Ihor Potieria.

When the action got started it was Tulio who struck first, throwing out a few leg strikes while Gore struggled to find the target. Gore was able to land, but had to continue wadding forward, hands high, into stinging jabs. A couple minutes into the round and Tulio began to really open up landing leg strikes at will. Gore cracked Tulio with hook that flashed Tulio and dropped him momentarily. Tulio quickly scrambled to his feet and the pace continued. With a couple minutes left in the round, Gore’s face was a mask of blood from Marco’s jab. Marco continued to step on the gas tagging both the body and head of Gore. With under a minute left Tulio dropped Gore and landed some mean ground and pound. Gore managed to return to his feet momentarily, stunning his opponent with a blind overhand. The end of the round saw Gore retreating against the fence narrowly evading some flashy attacks.

The second round saw Tulio go right back to the well landing kicks to the leg and body before landing upstairs with jabs. Gore continued to move forward with his hands high but ate some more beautiful bodywork.  Tresean kept moving forward looking to get something going but Tulio’s left hand continued to snap Gore’s head back. Tulio thru a low teep that hit Gore in the cup and momentarily paused the action. Looking anxious to get going again, Gore adamantly signaled he was ready again after a brief break.

When the action resumed, and Tulio went right back to thudding and effective leg kicks. Marco was putting on a clinic- landing virtually everything, especially to the body, as Gore began to wilt. Mid way thru the round, Tulio suddenly changed the script and went high with a kick surprising and dropping Gore. Tulio sprang on Gore unloading ground and pound. The fight looked moments from being stopped. Gore miraculously escaped but wasn’t fully recovered, looking out on his feet.

Tulio leapt in missing with a flying knee but closed the distance- before landing a perfect straight punch crumpling Tresean. the referee steeped in and signaled the end of the fight.

In the post-fight octagon interview Marco revealed that he had broken his hand during the fight. Tulio went on to reveal that he broke his hand in the first round but continued to chase the finish. Tulio would go on to call out Marvin Vettori for his next opponent in the cage, looking forward to his next war.

Official Result: Marco Tulio def. Tresean Gore by TKO, Round 2, 3:16

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At least, it would have been a middleweight affair, had Potieria not come in heavy at the scales on weigh-in day. Instead, the bout was held at a 188 pound catchweight, with Potieria coughing up a percentage of his purse to his opponent.

Official Result: Marco Tulio def. Ihor Potieria by TKO (punch and GNP), Round 1, 3:04

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The latest installment of the Contender Series featured two returning fighters in Marco Tulio and Bogdan Grad, while Oklahoma State wrestler Nick Piccininni, a four-time Big 12 conference champ, looked to break into the UFC against fellow undefeated flyweight Jack Duffy. With a long history of wrestlers making a big splash in the promotion, could Piccininni be next? As for Duffy, he had seen two opponents fall through (including Mitch Raposo, who jumped straight to the UFC) for this DWCS fight.

Where to Watch DWCS Season 8, Week 3

As always, this week’s Contender Series installment takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV and streams on ESPN+ in the U.S., and SportsNet/UFC Fight Pass in Canada. The action gets underway at 8PM ET, 5PM PT. Full results can be found below.

Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8, Week 3 Results

Middleweight: Andrey Pulyaev def. Liam Anderson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Bogdan Grad def. Michael Aswell by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Middleweight: Marco Tulio def. Matthieu Letho Duclos by TKO, Round 2, 2:38
Bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker def. Adam Bramhald by KO, Round 1, 2:29
Flyweight: Nick Piccininni def. Jack Duffy by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Contract Winners: Malcolm Wellmaker, Marco Tulio, Bogdan Grad, Andrey Pulyaev

Nick Piccininni and Jack Duffy offered a rematch in week 10, Michael Aswell offered a short-notice opportunity when one comes up.

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Middleweight, Andrey Pulyaev (8-2) vs. Liam Anderson (6-2)

Notable Notes

• This will be the first time for Pulyaev fighting out of Russia.
• Anderson has a 100% finish rate.
• Pulyaev has a negative 3-5 amateur record.
• Anderson went 8-0 as an amateur.
• Pulyaev has six first-round finishes.
• Both are riding four-fight win streaks.

Prediction: It’s a shame that out of all the Russian fighters the matchmakers could get for DWCS it’s Pulyaev. He is riding a win streak but every time he’s had a step up in competition he’s lost. Even Anderson is disappointing. He’s coming off a head kick knockout and I’d imagine that’s why he got this opportunity. If the matchmakers actually looked into these guys I don’t think this fight would be happening.

Neither guy is likely to make it in the UFC because both are too flawed and do not have enough upside. With Pulyaev all I can say is he has a good liver kick. Even saying that, he throws naked kicks and doesn’t set anything up. You mix that in with poor cardio and striking defense and that’s a recipe to get slept. Anderson is coming off a knockout but he’s particularly a grappler. As long as Anderson protects his body he should take this. He’s the more physical fighter, has more tools, and has more ways to win. I got Anderson by second-round submission and I’m 40% confident.

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