Antonio Carvalho (Josh Hedges/UFC)
Featherweights booked for July 21 fight in Canada
The UFC’s return to Canada continues to take shape with the addition of a featherweight bout for this summer.
George Roop and Antonio Carvalho have agreed to fight at UFC 149, which takes place in Calgary, Alberta. The UFC announced the fight late Tuesday. Though its placement on the card was not given, the fight is likely to be part of the preliminary card, which is expected to air on the FX cable network and the UFC’s Facebook page.
UFC 149 is scheduled for July 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. It will be the UFC’s first visit to Canada’s third largest city and just the second Zuffa visit to the province of Alberta after WEC 49 took place in Edmonton in June 2010. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo is expected to defend his title in the main event, though his opponent for the fight has not yet been announced.
Roop (12-9-1, 2-5 UFC) has dropped two straight since upsetting Josh Grispi at the TUF 13 Finale last year. At UFC 137 in October, Roop lost a split decision to Hatsu Hioki, who was making his UFC debut. Though only one judge scored the close fight for Roop, many MMA media members and analysts saw the fight for Roop. But in January, his loss was a little more clear cut when Cub Swanson delivered a knockout in the second round at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis in Chicago.
Roop is in his second stint with the UFC. After appearing on Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Roop went 1-2 in the UFC, then made his way to the WEC, where he fought at both bantamweight and featherweight and notched arguably the biggest win of his career – a Knockout of the Night head kick win over “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung.
Carvalho (13-5, 0-1 UFC) made his UFC debut in January at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but came out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision against Felipe Arantes. That loss snapped a three-fight winning streak for the Canadian veteran who holds a notable win over Hioki on his resume.
Other bouts announced for UFC 149 all include Canadian fighters: a middleweight contest between “The Ultimate Fighter” winner Court McGee and Canadian Nick Ring; a bantamweight bout between Bryan Caraway and Canadian Mitch Gagnon, who will be making his UFC debut; a lightweight fight between Canadian Mitch Clark and Anton Kuivanen; and a featherweight fight between George Roop and Canada’s Antonio Carvalho.