How UFC 175's George Roop went from juvie to the UFC

On Saturday, UFC bantamweight George Roop (15-10-1 MMA, 5-6 UFC) will make his 15th appearance in the UFC in a bout against newcomer Rob Font (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

The two meet on the FOX Sports 1-televised preliminary card of UFC 175, which takes place at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Roop’s octagon career is far from spectacular, but he’s managed to keep his place in the industry-leading promotion for six years – a feat many others can’t claim. Of 16 who competed alongside him on “The Ultimate Fighter 8,” only three remain in the UFC.

“If I weren’t even to make it to the (title), I’d be able to walk away from this sport completely happy with what I’ve done,” he told MMAjunkie Radio.

Although he doesn’t have any immediate plans to do so, Roop can walk away with his head held high because he came from very little. Even while he was wrestling as a youth in Tucson, Ariz., he said he frequently got into trouble.

“I didn’t have a lot of guidance when I was young,” he said. “I come from a broken home. I was kind of acting out. I’ve learned through life lessons, and that’s how I matured.”

Some of those lessons came through spectacularly dumb behavior. Now 32, Roop said he went to jail for two years as a juvenile after assaulting a police officer and stealing a police car.

“Me and my friends were in a stolen vehicle, and the cops, they were chasing us,” he said. “I can run, so it took them a while to catch me with their whole perimeter set up. And they eventually caught me, and one of the police officers was really pissed off and he had me in a pressure point (hold), bending me over the car.

“I wrestled at, like, 112 pounds, so I was a little kid, and I was just begging him, ‘Ah, you’re breaking my thumb, you’re breaking my thumb.’ Next thing you knew, my foot came back and caught him right in the balls, and he was on the ground. I took off running and slipped (off) the cuffs in front (under my legs). There was a cop car up the road; (I) jumped in it and took off.

How did he get the keys? They were in the ignition.

“It was very convenient,” Roop said.

As you might expect, he didn’t get very far. He said he found himself surrounded when he stopped at a stoplight, and, “next thing you know, I was getting (dragged) out of the car and beat down by cops.”

“I didn’t have anything planned out,” he added. “I was young and dumb. With that being said, I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I’m a well-rounded man, and I learned from those experiences, and now I’m a father and a husband.”

Now, Roop runs a gym, Apex MMA, with several longtime training partners. He hasn’t moved out of Tuscon. Several of his close friends are police officers and border patrol agents, he said. When his children act out, he lays down the law.

Roop said they haven’t started asking questions about his past, but when they do, he’ll tell them everything.

“I’ll be open and honest about everything I do,” he said.

Roop doesn’t just have a lot of stories to tell about his misbehavior, of course. He has a lot to share about his time as a fighter in the world’s biggest MMA promotion, fighting on stages around the country and sometimes in front of millions of people.

On Saturday, the fighter writes another chapter in that story, one he hopes will end with another victory. Font is a regional champion and has lost only one pro fight.

But regardless of the outcome, Roop is happy with his place in the UFC.

“I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished,” he said. “Fighting doesn’t define me. It’s what I do because I enjoy it.”

For more on UFC 175, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.