Andrei Kopylov

For Russian footballer, see Andrei Nikolayevich Kopylov.
Andrei Kopylov
Nationality Russian
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 264 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)
Division Heavyweight
Team Russian Top Team
Years active 1992 - 2002
Mixed martial arts record
Total 15
Wins 5
By submission 3
By decision 2
Losses 10
By knockout 3
By submission 3
By decision 4
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Andrei Kopylov is a retired Russian sambist and mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of Fighting Network RINGS. He lost his last fight at PRIDE 22 - Beasts From The East 2 against Mario Sperry on September 29, 2002.

Sambo career

Andrei practised various sports from the age of 17, among them basketball, volleyball and boxing, but he turned to sambo after he was introduced to his girlfriend's father, who was a sambo master. Kopylov started training with the renowned Alexander Fedorov and mastered the grappling in a short time, once even submitting his own teacher in a contest. After three months, he was sent to the national junior championships of 1983, in which he won a silver medal. He also won a bronze medal, and in 1985 he finally gained the gold. In 1986, he reached the finals of the USSR championship, being eliminated at the end by the eventual champion, Rotsyavichusom. However, Kopylov obtained revenge over him by beating him in three minutes at the national champion in 1987, ending himself in second place. In 1991, he moved to superheavyweight division, which turned successful for him as he won the USSR championship at that weight in 1991. The same year, after failed plans to move to Canada, he was contacted by Japanese pro wrestling promotion Fighting Network RINGS, and after he accepted, he was sent to the team RINGS Russia, where he met Volk Han, his future partner in the Russian Top Team.[1]

Mixed martial arts career

RINGS

Kopylov debuted in pro wrestling in 1992, obtaining a great submission win over Volk Han. Han retaliated eliminating Kopylov from the Mega Battle Tournament 1995, in which Andrei had taken part after submitting Grom Zaza, but he remained as an important figure in RINGS, having matches with promotion chairman Akira Maeda and his apprentice Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Kopylov became popular among the Japanese for his anodine looks, featuring moustache, a receding hairline and an unathletic looking build, but those weren't obstacle for his grappling prowess.[2]

After RINGS turned from pro wrestling to MMA, Kopylov struggled to keep the level due to his notorious stamina troubles and age wear, but he got renown after his performance at the King of Kings tournament in 1999. He first faced Leonardo Castello Branco, a heavy favourite to win for being a world champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but Kopylov shockingly submitted him in just 19 seconds with a feint uchi mata transitioned into a kneebar. Not less surprising was his next fight at the event, outstriking Dutch kickboxer Ricardo Fyeet and submitting him in literally half of the time. Kopylov advanced to the semifinals and was pitted against rising star Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, another famed BJJ stylist who had previously submitted Valentijn Overeem and Andrei's teammate Iouri Kotchkine. Kopylov started the match offensively, countering Nogueira's holds in unorthodox ways and threatening him with a persistent Kimura lock attempt for most of the first round, before Nogueira reversed him and took his back. At the second round, Nogueira chose to fight stand-up and dominated a clearly tired Kopylov, who was fighting without gloves (it took out his usage of closed-fistes strikes according to the ruleset), until the time went out. Two judges claimed draw and a third ruled it for Nogueira, so Kopylov was eliminated from the tournament.

At the next RINGS event, Kopylov met the debuting Ricardo Arona. The stronger and much younger Brazilian controlled the fight via takedowns and position, though he was unable to finish Kopylov due to the Russian's defensive acumen. In an instance, Ricardo accidentally eye-gouged Andrei, which damaged his eye and stunted his performance for the rest of the bout. At the end, Arona was granted a unanimous decision. Notably, one of the judges (Chris Dolman) ruled his judgement of Kopylov as 10 out of 20 for his lack of cardio, which caused laughs among the audience, but Kopylov remained as a fan favorite in the promotion.

Kopylov also fought Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Dan Severn in RINGS. Kopylov landed several punches thanks to superior hand speed, but Severn used his wrestling background to take him down. Shortly after, Severn landed a right hook which drew blood from the Russian, before controlling him for a unanimous decision. Andrei's last fight in RINGS was against Tommy Sauer at the opening rounds of the King of Kings 2000. The fight was controversial, as the referee stopped the action when Kopylov seemed to have been knocked out by Sauer, but Kopylov got up instantly and claimed to be unaffected. His team protested for what they called a premature stopping and a lack of comprobation by the ring doctor, but the decision was not reverted.

PRIDE

Kopylov had his last fight in Pride Fighting Championships as part of a special bout against Brazilian Top Team leader Mario Sperry. A substantially aging Kopylov fought defensively on the mat, while Sperry took advantage of the Russian's unfamiliarity with strikes on the ground and landed knee strikes and a soccer kick to the face. Despite a comeback from Andrei with a leglock which Sperry dove away to avoid, the kick had caused a cut in Kopylov's mouth and the match was stopped to give the win to Sperry.

In wrestling

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 5-10 Mario Sperry TKO (cut) PRIDE 22 September 29, 2002 1 6:02 Nagoya, Japan
Win 5-9 Egidijus Valavicius Decision (4-0 points) Rings Lithuania: Bushido Rings 2 May 8, 2001 2 Lithuania
Loss 4-9 Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov Decision Rings Russia: Russia vs. Bulgaria April 6, 2001 2 5:00 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Loss 4-8 Tommy Sauer KO (punch) Rings: King of Kings 2000 Block B December 22, 2000 1 0:10 Osaka, Japan
Loss 4-7 Dan Severn Decision (unanimous) Rings: Millennium Combine 3 August 23, 2000 2 5:00 Osaka, Japan
Win 4-6 Carlos Clayton Submission (armbar) Rings Russia: Russia vs. The World May 20, 2000 1 0:55 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Loss 3-6 Ricardo Arona Decision (unanimous) Rings: Millennium Combine 1 April 20, 2000 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 3-5 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Decision (majority) Rings: King of Kings 1999 Final February 26, 2000 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 3-4 Ricardo Fyeet Submission (achilles lock) Rings: King of Kings 1999 Block B December 22, 1999 1 0:08 Osaka, Japan
Win 2-4 Leonardo Castello Branco Submission (kneebar) Rings: King of Kings 1999 Block B December 22, 1999 1 0:16 Osaka, Japan
Loss 1-4 Yoshihisa Yamamoto Submission Rings: Final Capture February 21, 1999 1 6:55 Japan
Loss 1-3 Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov Submission Rings - Mega Battle Tournament 1997 Semifinal 1 October 25, 1997 1 10:52 Japan
Loss 1-2 Akira Maeda Submission (rear naked choke) Rings - Extension Fighting 7 September 26, 1997 1 8:32 Japan
Win 1-1 Zaza Tkeshelashvili N/A Rings - Battle Dimensions Tournament 1995 Opening Round October 21, 1995 N/A
Loss 0-1 Hans Nijman TKO Rings Holland - Free Fight February 19, 1995 N/A Netherlands

References

  1. ↑ http://hybridfighting.narod.ru/fans.htm
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Profile at Oocities". Oocities. Retrieved 2015-01-17.

External links

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