Roman Kopylov delivered a head kick finish in the dying seconds of his fight with Chris Curtis tonight at UFC Fight Night 249.
Round One
Kopylov with a solid body kick. Now a low kick. He starts feeling out with the jab. Curtis working his jab now and then a body kick of his own.
Light punches from Kopylov. Jabs from Curtis. Kick for Kopylov now and then a hard jab. Solid jab from Curtis now.
Kopylov with a punch to the body. Curtis with the jab too. Leg kick for Curtis. Fast combo of punches from Kopylov comes off the guard.
Leg kick for Kopylov. Crisp jabs from Kopylov. He lands a few more and threatens with a single-leg, but doesn’t commit to it.
Nice right hand for Kopylov. Leg kick now. Good uppercut from Curtis and a leg kick in response from Kopylov. Now it’s Kopylov trying to find the uppercut, then back to the low kick.
Another low kick from Kopylov. Left hand for Curtis. Three jabs in a row from Curtis. Punches off the guard from Kopylov. Spinning elbow from Kopylov misses.
Round Two
Jab for Kopylov. He lands a few more and Curtis gets one of his own through. Curtis rips to the body now. Both exchanging punches now at close range. Kopylov has a cut to the nose now.
Curtis pressing forward and lands a punch to the body. Step-in elbow from Kopylov. Curtis busier with punches. A punch to the body from Kopylov strays to the groin and forces a brief stoppage.
Back to it they go quickly. Leg kick for Kopylov. NOw a body kick. Curtis with a leg kick. Body punches from Curtis.
Jab for Kopylov but Curtis responds with two of his own. Left hand for Kopylov. Accidental eyepoke from Kopylov forces another brief stoppage.
Inside low kick from Kopylov. Hard left hook lands for Kopylov and seemed to trouble Curtis for a moment. Straight punches from Curtis. Leg kick for Kopylov. Jab from Koyplov and several in return from Curtis.
Leg kick again from Kopylov. Now a punch to the body for him. Body punches for Curtis. Straight punches followed by a kick from Kopylov. Hard punch from Kopylov at the end of the round knocked Curtis back for a moment.
Round Three
Jabs for Curtis. leg kick from Kopylov. Now a body kick. Curtis rips to the body. A couple of uppercuts from Kopylov.
More jabs from Curtis. Kopylov with a flurry of punches off the guard. Curtis continues working the jab. left hook from Kopylov.
Hard left hand from Kopylov but Curtis guard helps stifle it. Hard leg kick from Kopylov hurts Curtis. Now he kicks to the body. Solid left hand from Kopylov.
Leg kick for Kopylov. Curtis pressing forward but not landing anything too meaningful. A couple of lefts and a right from him.
Good uppercut from Curtis. Kopylov goes for a takedown and lands it in the center of the Octagon. He lands a right hand. Curtis scrambles to his knees and then over to the cage where he stands up. Kopylov drags him back down, but he gets straight back up and is now at striking range again.
Body kick for Kopylov. Right hand for Kopylov. Now a straight left. Curtis comes forward. He rips to the body. Kopylov tries for a single-leg, but Curtis fights it off. Kopylov clinches and Curtis counters with a potential standing choke, but nothing comes of it.
Final seconds of the fight and Kopylov suddenly unleashes a head kick that hits the mark and sends Curtis staggering to the mat. Kopylov walks off and Curtis stays on one knee looking over at him. There’s just a second to go in the fight when the ref decides Curtis is done and waves off the fight! Kopylov TKO’s Curtis at 4.59mins of the final round. Curtis is furious with that call by the ref, and it’s certainly controversial, but there’s no doubt he was rocked by that last-gasp head kick.
