UFC 160 results/photos: George Roop upsets Brian Bowles via TKO

LAS VEGAS – George Roop may have ended the first round on his back, but he bounced back hard with a violent TKO finish of Brian Bowles in the second.

The bantamweight bout was part of Saturday’s UFC 160 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It streamed on Facebook ahead of additional prelims on FX and prior to the pay-per-view main card.

Bowles got off to a good start late in the opening round, using a solid right hand to put Roop on his back. When he couldn’t lock up a guillotine choke, Bowles settled for ending the round in mount with Roop content just to hang on.

Roop returned the favor early in Round 2, landing a lead left that put Bowles down. He then pounced on him with heavy punches that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the bout at the 1:43 mark of the second round.

“He dropped me in the first round and put me in a bad position, but I came back and put a lot of pressure on him,” Roop said. “My preparation was right on. He was exactly what I expected.

“I’d love to fight a guy like Scott Jorgensen next. I think that would be a great fight. Respect needs to be earned, and I’ve now won two in a row. Success will ultimately be defined by earning the title.”

Bowles (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who is ranked No. 10 in the latest USA Today Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA bantamweight rankings, has now lost two straight in the UFC after jumping out to a 2-0 start. The win is the second in a row for Roop (14-9-1 MMA, 4-5 UFC), who is unbeaten in two fights so far this year.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 160 results include:

• George Roop def. Brian Bowles via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:43
• Jeremy Stephens defeats Estevan Payan via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC 160, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report on-site in Las Vegas.