Middleweights
NR | Albert Duraev (14-3, 0-0 UFC) vs. NR | Roman Kopylov (8-1, 0-1 UFC)ODDS: Duraev (-320), Kopylov (+260)
Duraev was one of the standouts on the current season of Dana White’s Contender Series, which was to be expected. The Russian already put together a strong resume, including a reign atop the Absolute Championship Berkut middleweight division, and was clearly worthy of a UFC contract outright. “Machete” cashed in on that hype, running through Caio Bittencourt in a shade under three and a half minutes to officially earn his spot on the UFC roster. Some problematic social media moments resurfaced in light of Duraev’s win, but from a purely in-the-cage perspective, he looks set to make a run to middleweight relevance sooner rather than later. Just six and a half weeks after his win over Bittencourt, Duraev’s UFC tenure starts against a fellow countryman. Kopylov was last seen in November 2019, making his own UFC debut against Karl Roberson and also coming into the promotion with a bit of hype. Kopylov found regional success thanks to his fast hands, using a high-paced striking style that did not provide much in the way of one-shot power but would eventually lead to his overwhelming the opponent over time. However, the fight against Roberson was a worrying sign. Kopylov seemed to struggle against a more powerful opponent who was also willing to strike from range, and his best success simply led to Roberson scoring a takedown and winning via submission. Duraev’s striking favors power over speed, so Kopylov’s quick combination punching does figure to present a problem, particularly if he is given enough time to build momentum over the course of the fight. With that said, Duraev seems to have a good sense of when to start pursuing his wrestling, and this figures to be over in short order as soon as he manages to get this fight to the mat. The pick is Duraev via first-round submission.
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