IRVINE, Calif. – Anthony Hernandez won’t change his approach for Roman Kopylov.
Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) went from being scheduled against Combat Sambo champion Ikram Aliskerov to now facing knockout artist Kopylov (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card opener at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Hernandez thinks Aliskerov is the more well rounded fighter, but the submission specialist’s game plan remains the same.
“Obviously this guy is a striker, not a wrestler,” Hernandez said of Kopylov at Wednesday’s UFC 298 media day. “The other guy had way more weapons. This guy is a really good kicker, a good striker. So it does change a little bit, but it’s the same game plan no matter what: Gas a motherf*cker out and drown him.”
Hernandez, 30, is on a four-fight winning streak – most recently stopping Edmen Shahbazyan by third-round TKO last May. Inactivity has slightly halted his momentum, but “Fluffy” hopes to change that with a more active 2024.
“Main goal is to win,” Hernandez said. “Second goal would be to stay healthy and definitely want to bang out some fights. I’m not getting any younger, so I need to go f*cking get this sh*t. I need to make my run at the title, and that’s all I want.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
