As of October 16, 2026, Roman Kopylov is ranked No. 14 in the middleweight division in the promotion’s current official rankings. On October 3, 2026, he stopped Ateba Gautier by TKO (strikes) at 3:12 of the first round. The official event results record the finish.
Kopylov returned to the win column
The Gautier victory followed a unanimous-decision win over Marco Tulio on May 9, 2026, with all three judges scoring the bout 29–28 for Kopylov. He had lost decisions to Paulo Costa in July 2025 and Gregory Rodrigues in November 2025. His official fighter profile lists the results.
The finish against Gautier
Kopylov found repeated success with his straight left hand against Gautier at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City. After landing cleanly while moving out of countering range, he connected again and sent Gautier to the canvas. Follow-up punches brought the referee’s intervention. MMA Fighting’s event report describes the striking sequence behind the first-round stoppage.
The result fits a career that already included several UFC finishes. Kopylov stopped Punahele Soriano in January 2023 and knocked out Josh Fremd that September. He later defeated Chris Curtis with a high kick at 4:59 of the third round on January 11, 2025, adding a finish in the final second of a scheduled fifteen-minute contest.
His route through the middleweight division has included both knockout victories and decisions against established opponents. The back-to-back 2026 wins over Tulio and Gautier followed two losses during the previous year. That sequence preceded his return to the top fifteen.
