Roop def. Kimura, unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-26)
Journeyman George Roop faced off against the up-and-coming Dustin Kimura as part of the The Ultimate Fighter Nations finale preliminary card. Though both guys entered the bout with a reputation for putting on exciting performances, Round 1 stalled out just minutes in and drew loud boos from the stands.
Through those boos, Roop was able to take control of the action, get on top of Kimura and keep him down for the latter two minutes of the frame.
Round 2 featured much more stand-up action, though neither fighter landed anything particularly devastating. Kimura controlled the action nicely when it did hit the mat and handled himself well enough on the feet.
In the last round, Roop retook top position and rode it out from there, working his ground-and-pound. Kimura was stuck on the bottom, unable to achieve anything resembling offense.
It seemed a pretty clear-cut decision to render, but as per usual the judges made it interesting. At least they correctly picked the winner.
George Roop should win this 29-28.
—Jeremy Botter, Bleacher Report (@jeremybotter) April 16, 2014
The win was a big one for Roop, who rebounded nicely after falling to Francisco Rivera in November of last year. The win was also the 15th of Roop‘s career.
The loss is a hit for Kimura, who falls to 2-2 inside the Octagon. He’s still a youngster and should be given some time to put together a comeback, but his name has definitely lost some luster after he made waves in his promotional debut.
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