Middleweights
Roman Kopylov (11-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. Josh Fremd (11-4, 2-2 UFC)Two middleweights on quiet winning streaks look to keep the momentum going in this undercard pairing. It has been nice to see Kopylov overcome a rough start to his UFC career and finally realize some of his potential. A fast-handed striker who relied on outlasting his opponents on the regional scene, the Russian had some long injury layoffs and unimpressive performances before taking apart Alessio Di Chirico a year ago and earning that long-awaited first UFC victory. Since then, Kopylov has started to look as advertised, albeit with less pace and more power than against previous competition. He did not always stay ahead of Claudio Ribeiro in his win in July but quickly ended things with an absolutely brutal kick to the head. There is still a sense that Kopylov can be taken out of his comfort zone against consistent pressure, which makes this encounter with Fremd and interesting proposition. Fremd is not a standout athlete, but he makes up for that with consistent aggression and one of the largest frames in the UFC’s middleweight division. Even during the times Fremd stalls, he will keep grinding against opponents trying to make something happen—an approach that could turn this fight into a bit of a slog. While Fremd might wind up banking a lot of control time in the clinch, the read is that Kopylov can land enough high-impact offense in the moments in between to win some ugly rounds on the scorecards. The pick is Kopylov via decision.
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Kopylov vs. Fremd
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