UFC 332 is less than 24 hours away…
It all goes down this weekend (Saturday, October 3, 2026) at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The main event features the vacant Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight championship. Natalia Silva collides Wang Cong.
We have a weekly series at MMAmania.com called “Weekend Lock,” where we share one bet we predict in SLC when the chaotic dust settles. We also want to hear what our readers think (that’s you!), so tell us your most confident UFC 332 Betting Lock in the comments section below (See full UFC 332 odds here).
Summary of last week: This is the second time this year I’ve gotten the weekend locks wrong. UFC Vegas 121, Men’s model Ottoman‘s ML didn’t hit as he was disqualified for an illegal knee to the skull.
Let’s keep rolling below:
Medium weight demolition machine Ateba Gautier takes a huge step in competition with a longtime division staple Roman Kopylov UFC 332 on the main card.
And for once, I’ll bet Gautier doesn’t murder anyone right away.
I’m going to lock myself away this week Gautier vs Kopylov Over 1.5 rounds (-155).
The 24-year-old has won nine of his 11 professional victories, including four of his five UFC victories. He’s huge for the division, ridiculously powerful, and has quickly established himself as one of the more intriguing young middleweight prospects on the roster.
However, Kopylov is a huge step up from anyone Gautier has faced so far.
The Russian has taken 12 walks in the Octagon and, most importantly for this bet, has never been stopped by a strikeout in his professional career.
Kopylov has five career losses, three by decision and the other two by forfeit. No one has been able to knock him out, and that’s especially important given that Gautier’s biggest weapon is obviously his devastating jab.
You also don’t have to trust Kopylov’s chin for 15 minutes.
We only need seven and a half.
Kopylov has only gone under 1.5 rounds once in his entire UFC career, which makes -155 pretty nice considering the experience and durability advantage he brings to this matchup.
There’s also an interesting dynamic when Gautier doesn’t take his opponent out right away.
We’ve seen Gautier overwhelm opponents with his size, speed and power, but Kopylov has far more experience at the top level and has proven that he can maintain a dangerous striking ability in fights. If he absorbs Gautier’s early offense, the fight could become significantly more interesting as the younger fighter enters unfamiliar territory.
Gautier’s power could wear Kopylov down completely and eventually become the first fighter to knock him out.
On the other hand, Kopylov can weather the early storm, force Gautier to work and begin to take over as the fight progresses.
Either scenario works for us as long as the violence lasts seven and a half minutes.
Well, Gautier just might be that good.
Kopylov has never been knocked out, but stamina gets the better of everyone in the end, and Gautier has the kind of freakish power that can make historical trends meaningless with one clean connection.
There’s also always the chance that Kopylov hurts the less experienced Gautier early, though Gautier hasn’t shown any durability concerns so far.
Still, Kopylov is arguably the toughest and most experienced opponent Gautier has faced, and his history suggests he won’t be getting anywhere easy.
Give me Ateba Gautier Vs. Roman Kopylov over 1.5 rounds (-155) as this week’s “Weekend Lock”.
Ateba Gautier via TKO/KO/DQ: -110
Ateba Gautier via submission: +2000
Ateba Gautier by decision: +330
Roman Kopylov via TKO/KO/DQ: +450
Roman Kopylov via submission: +3000
Roman Kopylov by decision: +500
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