Russian middleweight Roman Kopylov said he is ready to replace the retired Paulo Costa and face Hamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi in ten days.
Kopylov addressed the heads of the world’s strongest league on social media with a statement to this effect.
“Mick Maynard, Dana White, I’m ready to step up to replace Kostya and fight Chimaev,” the Russian wrote.
Today, UFC CEO, Dana White, confirmed the information that the fight between Chimaev and Costa will likely be canceled due to the surgery that the Brazilian underwent three weeks ago. With that said, White stated that they are already in talks with potential opponents who could step up and face Borz.
To date, Roman Dolidze, ranked seventh in the organization’s middleweight rankings, has publicly announced his willingness to fight Chimaev on short notice. The fight was rumored to have been offered to former title challenger, Marvin Vettori, but the Italian declined the bout.
Roman Kopylov, 32, is riding a streak of four wins by knockout in the UFC, but is not yet ranked among the top 15 middleweight fighters in the organization.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32851-roman-kopylov-gotov-spasti-boj-khamzata-chimaeva.html?rand=19907
