Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues booked on UFC 322

Roman Kopylov and Gregory Rodrigues will throw down in an intriguing middleweight matchup that has been set for UFC 322. On November 15th, inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, the two combatants look to advance their placement within the promotion’s 185-pound hierarchy. While he is looking to rebound from a UFC 318 loss to Paulo Costa, Kopylov still finds himself in the rankings as he is the number fifteen-ranked middleweight contender.

The former Fight Nights Global middleweight champion is 2-2 in his last four, with a loss to Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez bookending consecutive wins before his recent Costa setback. Kopylov secured victories during that stretch over Cesar Almeida as well as Chris Curtis.

Rodrigues looks to break into the rankings after a run that has seen him go 4-1 in his last five fights. ‘Robocop’ has victories over Brad Tavares and Jack Hermansson in that stretch, with his only loss coming to Jared Cannonier. The Hermansson win was Rodrigues’ most recent fight, and the latter secured a first-round stoppage by way of a left hook at UFC 317.

UFC 322 topped by a pair of massive title bouts

UFC 322 keeps growing deeper and deeper as the promotion’s latest foray into Madison Square Garden looms closer. The main event offering for UFC 322 will see the welterweight championship contested for. The reigning 170-pound titleholder, Jack Della Maddalena will aim to defend his strap in a clash with Islam Makhachev.

The former UFC lightweight champion Makhachev vacated his 155-pound crown to pursue this opportunity. Makahchev is the number two-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, aiming to enter the rarefied air of two-division championships throughout UFC history. If Makhachev gets a win on that card, the Dagestan native could also potentially leapfrog Ilia Topuria, who is the current number one-ranked pound-for-pound fighter.

Also in the co-main event of UFC 322, Valentina Shevchenko will put her UFC flyweight strap against someone else looking to cement themselves in the annals of UFC history as a two-division title holder. That fighter in question is former UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang, who will clash in this hotly anticipated bout that fans have long been yearning for.