Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir Profile - George Roop

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By Thomas Gerbasi

It was the gamble of a lifetime.

George Roop, a father and up and coming prizefighter, had a choice to make earlier this year. Go through with a fight with Nick Buschman in Denver on April 12th and make some much needed cash, or take a trip to Boston two days earlier to roll the dice at The Ultimate Fighter season eight tryouts.

“I didn’t have a lot of money and I was really focused on the fight,” said Roop, 7-3 and on a two fight winning streak at the time. To him, the choice was clear: take the sure thing – the fight.

That’s when a couple of good friends intervened and made the choice for him. They booked a flight to Boston, a hotel room, and a flight back to Denver for him. He would have the chance to try out for the show, get back in time for the weigh-ins, and fight on Saturday. It would be tough, but as Roop admits, “I definitely thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

And he made the most of it. Not only did Roop earn a spot on the show, but he went back to Denver and moved to 8-3 as a pro with a 24 second stoppage of Buschman. He now realizes what his friends’ push meant to his career.

“I really needed The Ultimate Fighter as a stepping stone,” said Roop, echoing the sentiments of practically every MMA prospect who went on the show and parlayed it into a career in the UFC. “I’m from a smaller town and we don’t have those big camps. I didn’t train with a huge camp here in Tucson – I was with Ultimate Martial Arts and Apex Fitness and those aren’t very big gyms compared to those gyms the guys on The Ultimate Fighter were coming from – BJ Penn’s camp, Chuck Liddell’s camp and so on. So this was something I really needed, and it helped me take things to the next level. But I always believed that I had what it took.”

He had to convince his housemates and the season eight coaches, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, though, and that wouldn’t come until after he beat Roli Delgado and was picked last by Mir.

“I know I surprised almost everybody in there,” said Roop. “I’m a big believer that talk is cheap. I’m not the best one in going out there and putting on a show for the cameras, but I am the best when it comes to getting in the gym, sweating hard, and bleeding hard. And what it all comes down to is that I show up to fight every single time.”

After beating Delgado, Roop would put a second win in the bank by decisioning John Polakowski to earn a spot in the semifinals this Thursday against Phillipe Nover. From nowhere to a possible fight in the lightweight finale? That’s some heady stuff right there, but Roop doesn’t feel overwhelmed by this entire turn of events. As far as he’s concerned, he’s always had the talent – it was the opportunity he was missing.

“I never thought that I was in deep water,” he said. “Just because I came from a smaller camp, I really didn’t believe that that was a downfall. It took a lot of pressure off me, I was very confident in my skills, and I’ve got a big heart, and I think that’s what takes me through most of my fights, and that’s why I succeed in what I do.”

He’s also been a hit with fight fans that appreciate his low-key approach and ‘just fight’ attitude. So while the 27-year old won’t show up in any highlight reel for in-house antics, his fights have been more than entertaining thus far. That’s the way he likes it, and though he’s become a bit of a celebrity around town, he’s not about to let it change him.

“I get noticed a lot down here in Tucson and in a sense life has changed, but I’ll never be the Hollywood type,” he said. “I’ll still be little George Roop and that’s the way I like to keep it. (Laughs) I want to keep myself real humble because that’s what keeps me real hungry. I believe a lot of fighters lose that fire once they get a big head, and that’s something I’ll never be – I’ll always remember where I came from, where I grew up, and how much hard work it took to get here.”

The work’s just beginning for Roop, and he knows it. In fact, as he gears up for his post-reality show career, the greatest thing he took from his six weeks in Las Vegas is that the more you sweat in the gym, the less you bleed in the ring.

“What’s really changed about me are my training methods,” he said. “I put everything else on the backburner and I’m in the gym seven hours a day, six days a week, and the only day I have off is my football day on Sunday. I learned what it takes to make it, and I’m ready to take it to the next level and show Tucson, America, and the rest of the world what George Roop is all about.”

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