Roman Kopylov may have kicked his way to a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 291.
In what was the most vicious knockout of the night so far, Kopylov (11-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) booted Claudio Ribeiro (11-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) for a head kick knockout at 0:33 of Round 2. The middleweight bout served on the preliminary portion of the event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
The finish consisted of a left high kick and a solo hammerfist follow-up. Ribeiro appeared not to be all there before the punch, but the hammerfist erased any doubt.
Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter):
KOPYLOV’S NASTY HEADKICK DROPS RIBEIRO 😱#UFC291 LIVE on ABC and ESPN 🍿 pic.twitter.com/ZX8Gb4hUC3
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 30, 2023
After the win, Kopylov called out Sean Strickland during his in-cage interview.
With the victory, Kopylov extends his winning streak to three after a 0-2 start to his UFC tenure. Ribeiro falls back into the loss column after a victory over Joseph Holmes in May.
The up-to-the-minute UFC 291 results include:
- Roman Kopylov def. Claudio Ribeiro via TKO (head kick) – Round 2, 0:33
- Jake Matthews def. Darrius Flowers via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:37
- Uros Medic def. Matthew Semelsberger via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 2:39
- Miranda Maverick def. Priscila Cachoeira via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 2:11
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
