Roman Kopylov vs. Ateba Gautier
UFC 332 · October 3, 2026 · Delta Center · Main Card 9:00 PM ET
The brief
- What kind of fight
- Power vs. power
- Finish likelihood
- Very High
- The line
- No line posted yet
- The stakes
- Middleweight · Main Card
The read
Two of the card's hardest hitters rarely see the judges' scorecards, and neither man has ever needed more than three rounds to make a statement.
Kopylov's experience against ranked, durable opposition gives him an edge in a firefight, but Gautier's finishing rate and physical tools make him live every second the fight stays standing.
Whoever lands cleanest first likely closes the show — this reads as an early finish regardless of who gets there.
The matchup
Kopylov is a decorated finisher coming off back-to-back decision losses to elite competition, while Gautier is riding a five-fight UFC win streak built almost entirely on first-round power.
Both men hunt knockouts rather than points, which raises the odds of an early finish, but Kopylov's deeper experience against ranked opposition is the clearest edge he carries in.
Gautier's unbeaten UFC run has come against largely untested opponents, and Kopylov represents his first genuine step up in competition.
Tale of the tape
| 15-5 | Record | 11-1 |
| 35 | Age | 24 |
| 6'0" | Height | 6'4" |
| 75" | Reach | 81" |
| Southpaw | Stance | Orthodox |
| Russia | Country | Cameroon |
| Ratiborets | Team | Manchester Top Team |
The numbers
Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.
The fighters
Roman Kopylov 15-5
Roman Kopylov is a Russian middleweight training with the Ratiborets team who has built his career on one-punch power, with 12 of his 15 wins coming by knockout. A southpaw with heavy hands, he has alternated highlight-reel finishes with tough decision losses to elite competition, most recently dropping back-to-back decisions to Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues before rebounding with a unanimous decision over Marco Tulio at UFC 328. He now faces a hard-hitting prospect unbeaten in five UFC appearances, a step down in name value but not in danger.
- WMarco Tulio · Decision (unanimous)UFC 328 · May 9, 2026
- LGregory Rodrigues · Decision (unanimous)UFC 322 · November 15, 2025
- LPaulo Costa · Decision (unanimous)UFC 318 · July 19, 2025
Ateba Gautier 11-1
“The Storm”
Ateba Gautier is a Cameroonian middleweight who moved to Manchester, England as a teenager to train at Manchester Top Team under coach Carl Prince. Nine of his 11 career wins have come by knockout or TKO, and he has opened his UFC run 5-0, four of those by finish, including a first-round stoppage of Tre'ston Vines and a second-round TKO of Ozzy Diaz at UFC 328. His lone professional loss, a split decision, sits more than four years and eleven fights in the past, and he now steps up in competition against a veteran with knockout power of his own.
- WOzzy Diaz · TKO, R2 1:10UFC 328 · May 9, 2026
- WAndrey Pulyaev · Decision (unanimous)UFC 324 · January 24, 2026
- WTre'ston Vines · TKO (elbows), R1 1:41UFC 320 · October 4, 2025