George Sotiropoulos vs. Rob Emerson UFC 101 fight booked for August 8

by MMAmania.com on May 5, 2009 5:55 AM EDT

George Sotiropoulos (9-2) from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 is set to face off against season five contestant Rob Emerson (8-7) at UFC 101 from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on August 8.

The promotion recently made the 155-pound contest official, which will mark the first fight for Sotiropoulos since April 2008. He has been plagued with injuries recently, which have kept him out of action since a dominating technical knockout win over fellow TUF contestant Roman Mitichyan at UFC Fight Night 13.

Sotiropoulos was among the pre-show favorites to win TUF 6 until the Australian was derailed by Tommy "The Farmboy" Speer in the semifinals. He bounced back to submit Billy Miles via rear naked choke at TUF 6 Finale in the first round back in December 2007.

Now apparently fully healed from his many injuries, the Serra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu-trained fighter will lock horns with the former "Lords of South County" rich kid gang member.

Emerson was riding high after the most impressive performance of his career, blasting Manny Gamburyan at UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" in August 2008 to record a 12-second knockout.

Prior to the win, the former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 rebounded from a rare double knockout-tapout against Gray Maynard to defeat Keita Nakamura via split decision at UFC 81: "Breaking Point" in February.

He had complied an impressive six-fight win streak, which included the "No Contest" against Maynard, before he met up with Kurt Pellegrino at UFC Fight Night 17 earlier this year. "Batman" slapped on a fight-ending (rear naked choke) in round two, ending Emerson's dominating run.

"The Saint" will undoubtedly look to get back to his winning ways in the "City of Brotherly Love" on fight night.

To check out the latest UFC 101 fight card and rumors click here.

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Comments

George is gonna kick some ass!! Sydney,Australia stand up!!

by kahsern on May 5, 2009 7:05 AM EDT reply actions

should be a great fight. I have wanted to see Georgie back in the cage for a while now. If he can shake off the cage rust, he should be able to submit Rob " The orange County THug" Emerson, or Rob “B-rad” Emerson. lol

George’s jits is very good. I have seen him hold his own and defend countless submisison attempts from Aoki back in the day.

Once this fight hits the ground, George will outclass him, and earn the sub win!

by john on May 5, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions

I hope George chokes the bejeezus out of Tha OG from Tha OC.

by PW on May 5, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions

“Og From the OC”….That has to become his official nickname!

Priceless PW!!!!

by john on May 5, 2009 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought it already passed the approval process a while back.

by PW on May 5, 2009 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions

It did, I just forgot what the official name was…thats why above I said something like the orange county thug…I couldnt remember exactly what it was, but I got the meat n potato’s.

One of my favorite things about this site is the witty nicknames we come up for fighters….you log on this site a year later, and all are still using those same names!!!! SO DAMN COOL!

I cant wait for the day that one of the nicknames we have annoited fighters with, gets announced by Bruce Buffer.

Tell me you wouldnt bust a nut, if you heard:

buffer: And in this corner, Clay “Huggie Bear” Guida!!!!!!1

lmfao, I would never stop laughing!

by john on May 5, 2009 7:26 PM EDT up reply actions

I got George in this one. Emerson knocking out a midget (Manny) does not impress me.

by WB on May 5, 2009 8:34 AM EDT reply actions

emerson has shown that he’s able to be submitted as he’s been by nate diaz on tuf and pelligrino. i think the same will happen here. George is a fighter who has allot to offer. People always talk about how danzig fought at a higher weight class on tuf but so did george. he’s a natural lw and i think he will make a strong impact in this division. he has all the tools to be a top ten in the world. he’s got awesome bjj, very good striking, hope he’s been working on his wresting b/c in this division you definately need that. Look for big things from this guy.