UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria will be live from Anaheim, California as we bring you another prediction and pick for the opening bout of the Main Card action. No. 15-ranked Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez will face off against Russia's Roman Kopylov in the UFC's Middleweight (185) Division. Check out our UFC odds series for our Hernandez-Kopylov prediction and pick.

Anthony Hernandez (11-2) has earned his ranking with a 5-2 UFC record since 2019. Since losing to Kevin Holland, he's won his last four consecutive fights with three finishes including a TKO against Edmen Shahbazyan most recently. He'll look to keep his streak going against another surging opponent. Hernandez stands 6'0″ with a 75-inch reach.

Roman Kopylov (12-2) is 4-2 in the UFC since 2019 and he's also won his last four fights in impressive fashion. Since dropping a fight to Albert Duraev, Kopylov has notched four-straight KO/TKO victories as he's knocking on the door of a top-10 matchup if he can do the same here. He stands 6'0″ with a 75-inch reach.

Here are the UFC Odds, courtesy of BetOnline. 

UFC 298 Odds: Anthony Hernandez-Roman Kopylov Odds

Anthony Hernandez: -260

Roman Kopylov: +220

Over 1.5 rounds: -164

Under 1.5 rounds: +134

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Why Anthony Hernandez Will Win

Anthony Hernandez is making a living off of his toughness and he can never be discounted at any point in the fight. He's relentless when it comes to his pressure boxing and he loves to scrap in the pocket or along the fence. He's also incredibly skilled with his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and he's quick to chase unorthodox submissions like heel hooks or knee bars. Look for Hernandez to welcome the mat exchanges if the two start wrestling and expect him to keep his guard active.

Hernandez has been looking to be more active in the octagon, but he's had a number of fights fall through since his last bout, including this matchup agains Kopylov. Hernandez will have to be defensively sound and not give up many clean shots to his body or head. He'll have to get creative in closing the distance with Kopylov as the usual aggressor, but he could benefit from turning this into a grappling match and seeking submissions from there.

Why Roman Kopylov Will Win

Roman Kopylov is an ultra-aggressive kickboxer who's been able to find 11 of his 12 wins by way of knockout. He doesn't discriminate strikes to the head or body and he even stopped Josh Fremd most recently with a shot to the liver. He's also able to generate a ton of power with his kicks and does massive damage if he's able to land clean. He walks forward constantly and has gotten hit his fair share of times, but he always seems to recover quickly and keep coming after his opponent.

While he may be at a slight disadvantage in the grappling, Kopylov has a 92% takedown defense rate and is very good at reversing positions if he's able to find an angle on his opponent. He won't be very easy to submit and he keeps his punches active when on the ground. Kopylov could stand to overwhelm Hernandez with his pressure, but he'll have to eat some jabs in the process to get into striking range.

Final Anthony Hernandez-Roman Kopylov Prediction & Pick

It's exciting to see this fight finally come to fruition after an initial attempt at making it months ago, but both fighters look ready to give their best performance on Saturday. Both men are coming in with four-fight win streaks and they've been finishing opponents left and right in the process.

Anthony Hernandez is a scrappy boxer who feels more than comfortable submitting opponents on the ground. He's extremely accurate with his strikes at 62% and does a great job of stepping on the gas when opponents are tiring out. If he can get Kopylov to empty his tank early, Hernandez has a great chance to take this fight to the ground and find a submission win.

Roman Kopylov, however, won't be very easy to get brought down and he'll be threatening with the knockout through all three rounds. We haven't seen him fight the distance in quite some time, so he may have to use some cardio against a durable guy like Anthony Hernandez.

All in all, I'll lean Roman Kopylov to get this win as such a heavy underdog. This fight is a lot closer than the betting lines may indicate and Kopylov has only been submitted once in his career. It'll be interesting to see what happens if he finds himself on his back, but his previous fights suggest he'll be able to turn away takedowns and keep this one standing. He also lands the much harder shots, so we like him to get the finish here.

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Final Anthony Hernandez-Roman Kopylov Prediction & Pick: Roman Kopylov (+220)