George Roop
Other reported bouts made official
A featherweight bout between George Roop and Cub Swanson has been added to the card for UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis next month in Chicago.
The UFC announced the new fight, and made official several others that had been reported, late Tuesday. All told, the UFC has now announced seven bouts for the show, and an eighth, between Charles Oliveira and Eric Wisely, has also been reported. UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis will be the promotion’s second event on the Fox network and will take place at the United Center in downtown Chicago.
Roop (12-8-1, 2-4 UFC) has alternated wins and losses for the last three years, save for a draw with Leonard Garcia at WEC 47. In Roop’s last outing, he suffered a split decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137 in October. At the TUF 13 Finale in June, Roop knocked out Josh Grispi with a body shot. And at WEC 51, he scored the biggest highlight reel moment of his career – a head-kick knockout of “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung. Roop is in his second stint with the UFC. His first came after he appeared on Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Swanson (15-5, 0-1 UFC) has also gone three years without a winning streak and is coming off a loss. Last month, at the first UFC on Fox show, he was submitted by Ricardo Lamas with an arm triangle. That fight was his long-awaited UFC debut. Swanson twice had been booked to meet Erik Koch, but twice was forced out with injuries prior to his debut against Lamas. Prior to joining the UFC, Swanson went 5-3 in the WEC. The fight he’s most famous for there, though, is an 8-second knockout loss to featherweight champion Jose Aldo thanks to a flying knee. That win got Aldo a shot at Mike Brown’s title, which he won and still holds.
The UFC also made official a previously reported bantamweight bout between Eddie Wineland and Demetrious Johnson. Wineland does half his training in Chicago and the rest in nearby Northwest Indiana, where he lives. Wineland has dropped two straight, both to Team Alpha Male bantamweights ranked in the top five of the weight class – Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez. Johnson will fight for the first time since a bantamweight title fight loss to Dominick Cruz in early October.
Other fights confirmed by the UFC for Jan. 28 include Paul Sass vs. Evan Dunham; Michael Johnson vs. Cody McKenzie; and Jon Olav Einemo vs. Chicago police officer Mike Russow. On Saturday, the UFC officially announced the show, which will be a two-hour, four-fight broadcast on Fox. The announced main event is a light heavyweight title eliminator between former champ Rashad Evans and Phil Davis. The co-main will determine the next challenger for middleweight champion Anderson Silva and features Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz.