Roop Guarantees Exciting Fight Against Swanson

Ahead of the bout, Roop joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss the matchup, featherweight champion Jose Aldo and more.

On Swanson: “I think he’s a great opponent. I think he’s a great fighter really. He’s a great athlete. He’s very well rounded. He’s really good everywhere and not terrible anywhere. He’s going to be a tough opponent and a tough test for me.”

On fighting on Fox: “It’s huge to me. I’d rather fight on the Fox card than even a pay-per-view card. Just the viewers and the new viewers that are going to be watching on Fox too -- it’s going to be really cool. I feel that my fight’s going to make TV. I think Cub Swanson and I, we’re great fighters and we’re very explosive and both of us show up to fight. I think that’s going to make for a great fight. I know everybody always says that, but if you actually look at the fights of Cub Swanson and myself, we show up to fight every single time. You’re guaranteed an exciting fight for this one. Hopefully it makes the Fox card and we’ll get seen by a good 10 million people.”

On whether lightweights moving to featherweight should expect to have an advantage: “Hell no. Absolutely not. I think people might think, ‘Oh, they’re going to be the bigger guy. They’re going to be the stronger guy,’ but I tell you what -- it’s kind of like, I tried fighting down at 135 as well. It’s kind of the same concept. It’s a different game down at 145 pounds. It’s different. The speed is different. The timing is different. The type of guys you’re fighting are more explosive, give you different angles and are going to be quicker than the 155ers. Us at 145, the natural 145ers, we’re just going to have to be more prepared for these guys’ power. I welcome any 155ers to come down. I’ll be more than willing to step up and fight them and show them that they’ll want to go back up to their natural weight class.”

On where he stands in his career right now: “I should be on a two-fight winning streak right now over some big competitors. I feel like I have propelled my game very much in the last year or two and I’m coming into my prime.”

On featherweight champion Jose Aldo: “I don’t think Jose Aldo is indestructible. I do think he’s beatable. I just think these guys need to put more pressure on him and drag him into deep water. I feel that people give the champ too much respect. They go in there and they try to feel him out, and that plays right into Jose Aldo’s hands because he gets to pick you apart with those leg kicks and his dynamic striking. I feel like you need to push him up against the cage. I think Kenny Florian did a good job in showing that and so did Mark Hominick in just pressing the pace on him and staying in the fight with him and making it into a dogfight.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 49:57).