UFC adds banger 'Fight of the Night' candidate to stacked UFC 322 card

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 2:10 PM ET

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Middleweight contenders Roman Kopylov and Gregory Rodrigues are set to meet in an incredible addition to UFC 322.

Set to take place at Madison Square Garden on November 15, UFC 322 is topped by a pair of massive title bouts that will see Islam Makhachev and Weili Zhang each try and claim their second UFC titles when they challenge Jack Della Maddalena and Valentina Shevchenko.

The UFC always makes an effort to stack its annual event at Madison Square Garden, and in a recent press release the promotion announced that Kopylov and Rodrigues will square off in a middleweight clash that could take home “Fight of the Night” honors on November 15.

Roman Kopylov Frustrated By Paulo Costa In His Last Outing

Currently occupying the final spot in the UFC middleweight division’s Top 15, Kopylov dropped back-to-back fights after joining the UFC with an unbeaten record in 2019.

The 34-year-old rebounded from a tough start to his Octagon tenure when he stopped Alessio Di Chirico in 2022, and that win kicked off what eventually turned into a four-fight run where Kopylov stopped all of his opponents with strikes.

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A step up in competition against current #6-ranked middleweight Anthony Hernandez at UFC 298 brought Kopylov’s winning streak to a halt, and after picking up back-to-back wins over Cesar Almeida and Chris Curtis he dropped a unanimous decision to former title challenger Paulo Costa in his most recent outing at UFC 318.

Gregory Rodrigues Enters UFC 322 Following First-Round KO

Standing across from Kopylov at UFC 322 will be the formerly-ranked Rodrigues, who returned to the win column at UFC 317 when he knocked out Jack Hermansson and earn a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts.

“Robocop” was on a three-fight win streak prior to a “Fight of the Night”-winning matchup with Jared Cannonier in February. That bout marked Rodrigues’ first headlining slot since joining the UFC, but the Brazilian was stopped by the former middleweight title challenger early in the fourth round.

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Rodrigues vs. Kopylov is a huge addition to UFC 322 for hardcore fans, as the pair have a combined 21 UFC appearances between them but have each only gone the distance three times in the Octagon. There’s still plenty of room for more fights to be added to UFC 322, but card is shaping up like this with just under two months to go until the event.

UFC 322 Fight Card

• Main Event: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev – For the UFC Welterweight Championship

• Co-Main Event: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Weili Zhang – For the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship

• Erin Blanchfield vs. Tracy Cortez

• Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates

• Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Eric McConico

• Angela Hill vs. Fatima Kline

• Gerald Meerschaert vs. Kyle Daukaus

• Roman Kopylov vs. Gregory Rodrigues