This featherweight fight might be a showcase bout for Hatsu Hioki, but George Roop is nobody to sleep on. He recently upset Josh Grispi to get a TKO victory in the third round of their bout.
Hioki brings an extensive 24-4 record into his Octagon debut, and this includes victories over Marlon Sandro, Ronnie Mann, Jeff Curran and two wins over former title challenger Mark Hominick.
Aside from holding a victory over Grispi, Roop also has a highlight reel headkick KO over the Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung.
The bout opened with Hioki throwing a high kick and low kick that was countered by Roop. Roop fired back with some big shots and accidentally hit Hioki low, which caused a break in the brief action during the first round.
Hioki tried taking the fight to the mat by catching Roop’s kicks, but Roop defended well and broke away from Hioki’s bodylock only to be taken down afterwards with a little more than a minute left in the round. Hioki attempted a guillotine but Roop stayed busy and got back to his feet to land some punches in a close round.
Round two opened with Roop attacking with body shots and a high kick that was blocked by Hioki. Roop went inside and was tripped by Hioki, who fell right into full mount. After moving to side control, Hioki attempted a keylock before moving into full mount again. After some action on the ground, Roop got to his feet and attempted an upkick that landed on Hioki’s face.
The third and final round started with Roop taking Hioki down. Hioki was quick to get up and tried to get a takedown of his own. Roop defended it well but was pushed up against the cage. He was able to land a few knees and foot stomps, but the fighters were broken up by referee Josh Rosenthal.
The round ended with Roop on top and bleeding from a cut on his face.
Official Result: Hatsu Hioki defeats George Roop by Split-Decision (29-28, 29-28 and 28-29)