Romanov vs Ivanov

Who won Romanov vs Ivanov?

Alexander Romanov beat Blagoy Ivanov by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of UFC Fight Night – Strickland vs. Magomedov, on Saturday 1st July 2023 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Alexander Romanov.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Romanov vs Ivanov stats

Alexander Romanov stepped into the octagon with a record of 16 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 9 by submission.

Blagoy Ivanov made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

This was Alexander Romanov's 9th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2020.

Alexander Romanov's UFC record stood at 6-3-0, while Blagoy Ivanov's came in at 3-5-0.

The stats suggested Romanov had a slight advantage in power over Ivanov, with a 38% knock out percentage over Ivanov's 32%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Romanov had a large advantage over Ivanov, boasting a 56% submission rate over Ivanov's 32%.

Alexander Romanov was the younger man by 4 years, at 33 years old.

Romanov had a height advantage of 3 inches over Ivanov. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Romanov was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 6 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2016, 9 years and 1 month later than Ivanov, whose first professional fight was in 2007. He had fought 32 less professional rounds, 32 to Ivanov's 64.

Romanov vs Ivanov form

Romanov had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili on 11th March 2023 by knockout in the 1st round at The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Marcin Tybura at UFC 278 on 20th August 2022 by majority decision in their 3 round contest at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City.

Going into that contest, he had won against Chase Sherman at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Vera on 30th April 2022 by submission in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Jared Vanderaa at UFC Vegas 39 on 9th October 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Juan Espino at UFC Vegas 24 on 17th April 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Blagoy Ivanov had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had been defeated by Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night on 4th February 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he was victorious against Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 274 on 7th May 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Going into that contest, he had lost to Augusto Sakai at UFC Vegas 1 on 30th May 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he had been beaten by Derrick Lewis at UFC 244 on 2nd November 2019 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He had won against Tai Tuivasa at UFC 238 on 8th June 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at United Center, Chicago.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Alexander Romanov had been fighting more than Blagoy Ivanov.

Going to this contest, Alexander Romanov had last fought 1 year, 6 months and 24 days ago, while Blagoy Ivanov's last outing had been 1 year, 8 months and 1 day ago.

Romanov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 5 months and 18 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 10 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

Ivanov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 3 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 24 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Romanov vs Ivanov?

Alexander Romanov was a 18/25 (-140) favourite going into the contest, while Blagoy Ivanov made his way into the ring at 11/10 (+110) with oddsmakers.