Roman Kopylov had a rocky start to his UFC career. Another promising Russian prospect, the 32-year-old lost his first two fights in the promotion. After this, however, he bounced back strongly and is currently sitting on a four-fight win streak.

He is scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez at the UFC 298 card headlined by Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria on February 18 in Anaheim, California. As he gears up for the fight that could take him to the next level, let us take a look at his background.

Roman Kopylov is already a multiple-time world champion

Roman Kopylov was born on May 4, 1991 in Shchebzavod, a small village in the Kemerovo region of the then USSR. Although a Russian by nationality, the 32-year-old is of Serbian heritage and is deeply rooted in Serbian traditions and customs and has served in the National Guard of the Siberian District.

Both of Kopylov’s parents are former athletes and nurtured his passion for combat sports since he was a child. He started training in martial arts at the age of 9, quickly finding success and winning trophies at various levels.

Kopylov is a five-time combat sambo world champion along with several European and Russian championships to his name in the sport. Along with his martial arts career, the Russian holds two degrees: in economics and physical education from the Kemerovo State University and Novokuznetsk Institute in Russia.

The Russian idolizes Serbian former MMA superstar Fedor Emelianenko and is only one of three people in history to win the Fight Nights Global middleweight championship. And the as-of-yet unranked 32-year-old has the opportunity to conend for the title in the near future if he can win his upcoming bout against a ranked opponent.

Kopylov has a huge opportunity at UFC 298

Roman Kopylov has stepped in on short notice to replace an injured Ikram Aliskerov, who was originally scheduled to face #14-ranked Anthony Hernandez at the UFC’s second pay-per-view event of the year. Aliskerov tweeted that he had to pull out due to a bad case of staph infection and promised he would be back in action after Ramadan.

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Due to this, Kopylov has the chance to break into the top 15 of the middleweight division if he can defeat Hernandez. And the sambo world champion, who has found his groove after the initial setbacks he faced in the UFC will be looking for his fifth consecutive knockout in the promotion.

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