Roman Kopylov and Alessio di Chirico faced off earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 3, 2022) at UFC Paris live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside Accor Arena in Paris, France. Scoring the first victory of his UFC career, Kopylov rallied late in the fight to stop di Chirico via knockout.
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PIVOTAL HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hits Paris, France, on Sat., Aug. 30, 2022, for the first ever with a pivotal battle between top-ranked Heavyweight contenders that will see No. 1-ranked Ciryl Gane look to get back into the title chase at the expense of No. 3-seeded knockout artist, Tai Tuivasa. In UFC Paris’ co-main event, the top two Middleweight contenders on the roster, Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori, will lock horns, with the winner potentially earning another future date with division kingpin, Israel Adesanya.
Kopylov started the fight well, scoring with some heavy connections and ripping body kicks. Di Chirico didn’t seem terribly bothered by the blows, but Kopylov’s speed advantage had him winning the early exchanges. That momentum began to shift a bit in the second as Kopylov fatigued. Suddenly, it was Di Chirico landed the better blows and just generally doing more work.
The Italian seemed to have lined up a comeback win heading into the third. Instead, Kopylov caught a second wind between rounds and came out refreshed, firing some big shots. He turned it up and stunned di Chirico, who dropped his hands and backed into the fence. From that vulnerable position, it didn’t take long for Kopylov to swarm and force the stoppage.
Check out the final moments below courtesy of UFC/ESPN.
For complete UFC Paris: “Gane vs. Tuivasa” results and play-by-play, click HERE!
