UFC 137: Hatsu Hioki booked to debut inside the Octagon against George Roop on Oct. 29 in Las Vegas

He's here.

The number two ranked featherweight in the world, Hatsu Hioki, has finally made his way to the world's largest fight promotion to ply his trade inside the Octagon. Now his debut is set.

The date? Oct. 29, 2011. The place? Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event? UFC 137: "St. Pierre vs. Diaz." The opponent? George Roop.

The promotion brought word of the pending match-up earlier today via its Twitter.

Hioki, more substance than pomp, piled up titles fighting overseas where he compiled an outstanding record of 24-4-2 with notable wins over Mark Hominick (x2) and Marlon Sandro.

The consensus opinion in the fight world is that he's already ready already for a fight against Jose Aldo. Why not test him first, though?

That test will come in the form of George Roop. Is he a world beater? Certainly not. In fact, he hasn't strung together back-to-back wins since March 2008.

But he's got enough respectable wins (see Sung Jung, Chan and Grispi, Josh) to throw him in against one of the best featherweights in the world, right?

No one is calling him a sacrificial lamb but -- baaaaaaaa.

UFC 137 will feature a welterweight championship match for the ages as Georges St. Pierre puts his coveted title on the line against former Strikeforce king Nick Diaz.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this still-developing fight card.