The first UFC fight of the night bonus winner of 2025 ended in controversial circumstances on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Roman Kopylov and Chris Curtis met in a fascinating clash of styles which more than delivered on the main card.
Kopylov started the fight strong but after winning the first round, Curtis was able to pull it back in the second to tie things up with the tiring Russian.
Just moments away from the end of the third round, Kopylov landed a head kick which took Curtis off his feet with the referee stepping in with just one second left on the clock.
He would have likely got his hand-raised via a decision regardless after rallying in the third but that didn't matter to Curtis who was visibly frustrated by the stoppage.
The kick did stagger him but with such little time left in the round, Kopylov chose to back off of his opponent rather than chasing after him meaning that there was no risk of further damage being taken.
Kopylov spoke in his post-fight press conference about his thoughts on the stoppage:
“I think that everything was fair. I think the referee did his job. I think that kick was enough. He fell to the canvas. There was no reason to finish him. I think he did the job.
“I think everything was according to the rules,” Kopylov said. “I got him. He fell. Technically, I could’ve jumped on him and finished him but I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to hurt him. There was no reason for me to give him more damage. If there’s questions about this fight, I’m happy to rematch.”
Curtis posted a statement on social media after the fight where it appeared that with some time to reflect on the situation, he was more disappointed at the loss itself rather than the manner of the defeat:
“Only job in the world where you can make 200k in a night and still be absolutely heartbroken and questioning where you go from here. No damage, I’m fine. Probably train tomorrow for my sanity but just frustrated and heartbroken. 8 months off. Hamstring tear, broken foot and then a calf tear. Trained through it all. Never lost sight of the goal. Just hurts to come up short. Thank you to everyone who reached out, have had a lot of love online and in person, it means the world to me. I guess I should take some comfort in fight of the night, but I only view tonight as a failure. Maybe 170 is the way to go from here. Rest this weekend and I guess we have a talk with the team and management about what comes next."
Curtis went on to thank everyone who played a part in the fight including his team, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard and the UFC PI who have helped him to recover from injuries.
