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 10th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2020.

Alexander Romanov's UFC record stood at 7-3-0, 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 34 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 27 less professional rounds, 37 to Ivanov's 64.

Romanov vs Ivanov form

Blagoy Ivanov had beaten 1 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Sergey Bilostenniy at PFL 1: 2024 Regular Season on 4th April 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Boeing Center, San Antonio, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Alexander Romanov at UFC Fight Night – Strickland vs. Magomedov on 1st July 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that 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.

Before that, he had won 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.

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.

Activity check

Ivanov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 1 month and 17 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 9 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.