Roman Kopylov proved to be the more technical strikes against Punahele Soriano tonight at UFC Fight Night 217 and was rewarded for some heavy body kicks in the second round with a TKO victory soon afterwards.
Round One:
Reaching left hand from Soriano. He tries for a takedown, but Kopylov shakes that off and throws a knee.
Jab for Kopylov. Soriano loading up on a few punches and partially gets through. Jab for Kopylov.
Soriano covers up and wades into range looking for big punches, but not quite finding the mark. Jab for Kopylov.
Inside leg kick from Kopylov. He lands it again. Rapid-fire combo from Kopylov. Stiff jab from Kopylov.
Nice left hand from Kopylov and tries to flurry, but Soriano throws a big punch that gives him something to think about.
Soriano throwing hard but Kopylov covers up. Grazing left hand from Soriano. Uppercut attempt from Kopylov. He lands that hard jab and continues to work behind it.
Reaching punches from Soriano partially getting through. Jab for Kopylov. He lands it again. Outside leg kick from him.
More jab work from Kopylov and Soriano tries but fails to initiate a takedown. Jab for Kopylov and Soriano lands a counter this time that backs him up.
Kopylov goes for a takedown and lands it, but Soriano is quickly back up. Hook and a straight from Kopylov is mostly blocked.
Round Two:
Jab and a body kick for Kopylov. Another few punches from him as Soriano tries to respond, but with less accuracy.
Glancing left hand for Soriano. Low kick for Kopylov. Light uppercuts from Soriano. He loads up on a punch that just misses. Spinning back kick to the body from Kopylov.
Soriano working the uppercut in close again. Jab for Soriano. Counter punch from Kopylov. Body kick for Kopylov and lands a punch to the body as well.
Another body kick from Kopylov and Soriano is struggling with those. Kopylov trying to step up the aggression and Soriano tries to swing back.
Soriano clearly still struggling, but Kopylov is giving him some time to recover. Soriano drives into a takedown attempt but it doesn’t give him the respite he requires as Kopylov gets up.
Another heavy body kick from Kopylov and Soriano drops his hands for a moment and grimaces, then tries to survive as Kopylov unloads with a flurry of hard strikes. It’s not looking good for him and soon after the ref steps in and waves off the fight, handing Kopylov a well-earned TKO victory at 3.19mins of the second round.
