UFC Fight Night 31's Francisco Rivera hopes Roop win gets him in title hunt

Francisco Rivera knows he’s be giving up some height to George Roop, but that’s OK with him.

Rivera (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Roop (14-9-1 MMA, 4-5 UFC) meet on the preliminary card of “UFC Fight Night 31: Fight for the Troops 3? tonight on the base at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Their fight airs on FOX Sports 1 ahead of a main card on the same channel.

Rivera, at 5-foot-9, will be looking up to the 6-1 Roop. It’s nothing new to him, and he trains regularly with taller fighters for that very reason that he’s likely to be at a height disadvantage in his bantamweight fights – even though 5-9 seems to be right at about the average for the weight class.

“I definitely have a few guys who are 6-1, 6-foot, and I’ve been training with taller guys all my life,” Rivera said.

In fact, Rivera thinks that might actually give him an advantage, being the shorter fighter.

“They’re not as fast at that weight, and they’re a little fragile at that height,” he said. “I just have to move around until he swings and misses and catch him off guard. If he doesn’t know how to use it right against someone who has speed and power, it’s going to be a bad night for him.”

Roop has won back-to-back fights since returning to bantamweight, including a second-round knockout of former WEC champion Brian Bowles. So Rivera knows there’s some danger there.

But he also believes a win over someone like Roop could put him right in the hunt for a possible title shot down the road.

Rivera lost his WEC debut in November 2010, then moved to the UFC with the merger of the two promotions, dropping down to 135 from featherweight at that time. But he lost to Reuben Duran and was released.

But after two quick knockout wins for Tachi Palace Fights, Rivera was brought back and beat Alex Soto. He ran into trouble when he knocked out Roland Delorme and UFC 149, but tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended and had the win overturned to a no-contest.

He rebounded in February, though, with a TKO against Edwin Figueroa. A win over Roop could put that no-contest well into the rearview mirror.

“He’s well-known, he’s on a two-fight win streak, he just beat Brian Bowles,” Rivera said. “So I have to do what I have to do to win this fight. Hopefully they see that (if I win) in impressive fashion, they’ll see me as a top bantamweight to get a title shot soon.”

He’ll even get on the microphone after the win if he has to.

“My fists aren’t enough, so I guess I have to start opening my mouth and calling guys out,” he said. “Hopefully they see that and look at all my fights and know I have all that power that most guys don’t have in the bantamweight division.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 31, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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