George Roop

By FCF Staff

The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to round out it’s October 19th card in Houston, Texas, as the promotion has announced that bantamweight George Roop will battle Francisco Rivera at the event. UFC 166 will be hosted by Houston’s Toyota Center and will feature heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez taking on Junior dos Santos in a rubber match.

Roop (14-9-1) has scored wins over Reuben Duran and Brian Bowles since he moved down from featherweight to bantamweight. The 6’1 tall vet is 3-2 in his last 5 bouts with losses coming to Hatsu Hioki and Cub Swanson.

Rivera (9-2) is coming off a stoppage win over Edwin Figueroa at UFC 156 in February, after his victory over Roland Delorme last summer was declared a no contest, following a failed post-fight drug test. The California fighter, who is undefeated in five straight bouts, reportedly tested positive for an over-the-counter stimulant.

Some of the other bouts scheduled for UFC 166 include heavyweight Daniel Cormier taking on Roy Nelson, former Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold fighting Tim Boetsch and former Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez versus Diego Sanchez.