UFC 137 : Penn vs Diaz

I really feel strongly about DIAZ win here @ 2.2 +

Mitrione is my other possible bet after seeing how roop gets on!

If you want to make some money this weekend, George Roop believes you should bet on him.

Roop (12-7-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC), a +300 underdog, meets highly regarded ex-Sengoku champ and UFC newcomer Hatsu Hioki (24-4-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the main card of Saturday's UFC 137 pay-per-view event.

"If you look at my opponents, I fight top-10 guys," Roop told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I don't ask for tomato cans. I don't fight turds."

That's why Roop thinks he's perfectly capable of pulling off the upset. After all, he's done it before. He scored a vicious head-kick KO of "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung at WEC 51, and after a move to the UFC, he stopped onetime top contender Josh Grispi with a TKO via body shot. Even his losses have come to notables such as George Sotiropoulos, ex-champ Eddie Wineland and recent title challenger Mark Hominick.

"I always want to fight the toughest guys in the world," he said. "And I have."

But beyond the experience, Roop thinks Saturday's bout is actually a tailor-made matchup for him. No one doubts Hioki is a tough guy – though Roop takes issue with those who call him the No. 2 featherweight in the world behind UFC champ Jose Aldo – and the 28-year-old Japanese newcomer is a remarkable 12-1-1 (with a split-decision defeat) over his past 14 fights.

And though Hioki clearly is a strong submission fighter, Roop has plenty of reasons to be confident.

"This is a good matchup for me," the 6-foot-1 fighter said. "I pose a lot of threats to him. He hasn't fought anybody like me before. He's going to have a hard time getting this fight to the floor if he wants to. And I can take it to the floor whenever I want to and work my ground and pound on him, and he's going to have one hell of a hard time with me standing up."

Once an unheralded cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 8," Roop has dabbled in various weight classes while learning as quickly as he can in recent years. The laid-back 29-year-old did no MMA training until just five years ago. The recent upsets have earned him some notoriety and an underground following, but the realist knows he's on the main card for one reason.

"I think it's because of my opponent why I'm on the main card," he said. "I can't agree with you more; I do think he's a stud. But he's definitely not the No. 2 ranked guy in the world. There are better guys. You have Chad Mendes, Erik Koch. Tyson Griffin just moved down. There a lot of good guys in the featherweight division right now.

"I'm not taking anything away from him. He is a top-10 guy right now. He has a lot of experience. He's going to be a tough opponent and my toughest opponent to date."

Roop fights for the first time since the passing of his trainer Shawn Tompkins. But he said Tompkins will be there "as an extra cornerman." Tompkins' usual lead spot is now filled by Roop's longtime training partner Ed West.

He's in a good frame of mind. He knows the pressure is on Hioki to prove he can hang with the UFC's best. Roop's already done that, and he's confident Saturday will be further proof he can beat the best.

"Come bet some money guys," he said. "I'm a good bet."

Tried to give you some more info above... At them current odds Roop is my bet!

Well it's 2am if you forget that the clocks are going back but taking that into account it will be 1am... well that's what it's saying on sky.

thanks dude, we going to comment in running i hope :)

Im on Ramsay and happy bout that too...

I'm on Vera next...

The truth... hopefully.

It's been going well for me so far... but all in accumulators so need some more wins.  Fingers crossed.

Jorgensen Penn Cerrone Vera and Griffin are my main bets with others coupled on to them.

Think Vera came out to Kanye last time... see what he picks

I did not enjoy that!!!

i wish betfair would let the preliminary fights go in play though

yeah cerone siver, whats the other fight?

Tyson Griffin

and...theres why

wish i'd known more about palaszewski would of bet on him had i known he'd beat pettis before

yeah ruined a good few of my bets.  luckily few still in play as thought griffin might be dodgy after missing weight.  Gunna take some good luck to make a profit tho.

merging wec was one of the best decisions the ufc ever made, been really impressed with the lightweight fighters that came over, i think its gonna be close but cerrone's reach advantage might edge it hopefully