| Strikeforce: Fedor Vs. Rogers Possibly Year's Best Card |
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| Written by Paul Fladten | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, 06 November 2009 15:05 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tomorrow, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers will air live on CBS for millions of viewers; while Elite XC has before had the opportunity to reach a national audience, Saturday’s event will be the first real opportunity the American public will have to witness a true headliner on a national network.
Main Event
On November 7, Fedor Emelianenko will make his Strikeforce against Brett “Grim” Rogers. Emelianenko, who is considered by many to be the best mixed martial artist of all-time, will have his first opportunity to truly capture the attention of the American public. But he may have a tough time capturing the audience in Rogers’ hometown.
“A lot of people will come and support Brett Rogers, I understand that,” Fedor said through a translator. “I understand that and treat that with understanding. I do have some experience of fights where my audience supported mostly my opponent.”
He will enter the without suffering a loss in 26 straight fights. His most recent victory came against former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski at the final Affliction show. Arlovski underestimated Fedor’s power and was knocked out cold with a spectacular off the ropes right hand.
The knockout of Arlovski was just one of the many highlights of Fedor’s career. The Red Devil Sport Club fighter has cornerstone victories over Mirko Cro Cop, “Minotauro” Nogueira, and Tim Sylvia.
Earlier this year Fedor was scheduled to face Josh Barnett at Affliction Trilogy, but the bout and the entire organization was disbanded after Barnett tested positive for steroids, again.
After Affliction folded, a bidding war between Strikeforce and UFC began, with Strikeforce landing the heavyweight division’s top prize. His first battle in Strikeforce will come against the undefeated Chicago native Brett Rogers.
Brett Rogers has been referred to as the “modern day Rocky”. The imposing striker grew up in Cabrini Green, one of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. Until earlier this year, Rogers worked at “Sam’s Club” in order to provide for his family. He understands that although is life has improved after the fight with Arlovski, he still has more to accomplish. He predicts an early stoppage.
“All I have to do now is train,” said Rogers. “I don’t have to work at Sam’s Club anymore. After that fight (with Arlovski) my life definitely changed. I got all kinds of offers from movies to tv…I predict this to be a short fight.”
The 6’5” Ambition MMA fighter has used his utilized his frightening power to remain undefeated through ten career matchups. Like Fedor, his last fight was a first round knockout of Andrei Arlovski. In order to stand a chance against “The Last Emperor", Rogers must hit early and hard.
Simply put, Fedor is a huge favorite in the fight. His freakishly well-rounded game has proved to be a near impossible riddle for any fighter to crack. His ring experience (however not in a cage), his world renowned submission game, and his overall mystique make him the favorite in tomorrow’s fight. Most expect Rogers to lunge and rush Fedor from the get go, but watch and see Rogers wait back, but ultimately get submitted at the end of the first round.
Middleweight Title Fight
While Fedor vs. Rogers may be garner the biggest headlines of the event, the card is filled with a number of other prolific matchups. In a battle to decide the organization’s middleweight champion, Jake Shields will face off against Jason “Mayhem” Miller.
Miller, who may now be better known by the American public for his work on MTV’s “Bully Beatdown, is one of the world’s most experienced middleweights. The UFC, Dream, and Pride veteran has a solid ground and pound game, and an even stronger personality.
The charismatic Miller’s most recent bout was a no-contest against Renaldo “Jacare” Souza. An unintentional down kick to the face of Souza was what ultimately caused the fight to be stopped.
Besides the Souza fight, Miller has faced off against some of the world’s best including Georges St. Pierre, Robbie Lawler, and Denis Kang. On Saturday, he will face off against another one of the world’s best.
Over the past few years Jake Shields has emerged as one of the world’s best welter and middleweights. While he has said that middleweight may not always be his weight class, he will put on some pounds in order to face Miller.
The Caeser Gracie Fight Team member is one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu players in MMA today. In 2007, he became one of only three people to receive a black belt from Cesar Gracie. He has riddled off 12 straight victories, and has not lost since November of 2004.
Over the last five years, Shields has beaten some of the toughest fighters in the game. He holds victories over Nick Thompson, Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit and many others. However, his most recent fight may have been his most impressive.
Shields last fight was a thing of beauty. In one of the sport’s most intriguing stylistic matchups, the jiu-jitsu ace Shields faced off against one of sport’s most feared strikers, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler. Two minutes into the first round, Shields showed his expertise as he submitted Lawler with a picture-perfect guillotine.
The middleweight championship fight will feature Miller attempting to use his size and ground and pound ability, while Shields will look to utilize his flawless jiu-jitsu. While Shields is a three to one odds on favorite in Vegas to win the match, many people have chosen Miller to come out on top. Expect Miller to succesfully attempt his ground and pound in the first round, but get caught by some type of choke in the second.
Non Title Fight Between Mousasi and Sokoudjou
In a fight that has the potential to be the most entertaining, one of the brightest up and comers Gegard Mousasi will square off against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. The battle, which could have occurred in the finals of Pride’s Super Heavyweight Tournament, will showcase two extremely entertaining fighters.
Sokoudjou, who was once thought to be the sport’s next big thing, has had an up and down career. In 2007, “The African Assassin” shocked the world with KO victories over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona. However, he lost three of his next four fights, albeit to strong fighters. He has since rattled off two straight victories over average fighters.
His opponent, the Red Devil Sport Club fighter Mousasi, has become one of the hottest fighters in all of MMA. The current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion sports a professional record of 26-2-1. He has won 13 straight fights. Mousasi is on the verge of breaking into the sport’s list of pound for pound top fighters.
Mousasi, or “The Dreamcatcher”, has shown an ability to win fights in any manner. He has finished 15 of his fights by TKO or KO and nine by submission. Against Sokoudjou who regularly runs out of gas in big matches, expect Mousasi to weather an early storm and finish off his opponent late in the first round. Also, the bout has been declared a non-title fight.
Also on the night’s main card is a battle between Fabricio Werdum and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. The bout will likely determine the top contender for the winner of Emelianenko and Rogers.
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers has the making of one of the best cards in a very long time. While the casual fan may not know the names of Fedor, Mousasi, or Shields yet, Saturday’s broadcast on CBS has the potential to create superstars for the organization.
As a company that has followed a relatively grounded game plan to this point, Strikeforce has stuck a huge amount of money into Fedor Emelianenko. With the recent signing of Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and the swirling rumors of a Dan Henderson signing, Strikeforce is making its play as the UFC’s biggest competitor.
Wisconsin Combat Sports would like to issue a special thank you to Scott Coker and Tracy Lansing for realizing WCS’ importance to Midwest MMA, and for inviting us along for the ride.
MAIN CARD Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title) Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (non-title match) Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum
PRELIMINARY CARD Marloes Coenen vs. Roxanne Modafferi Jeff Curran vs. Dustin Neace Shamar Bailey vs. John Kolosci Deray Davis vs. Mark Miller Nate Moore vs. Louis Taylor Jonatas Novaes vs. Christian Uflacker
Photo Courtesy of MMAJunkie.com
Set as favorite
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Comments (10)
Paul Fladten
said:
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The drive to the Sears Centre is filled with a number of eye-catching sights such as the All State Arena and huge jumbo jets that nearly clip the top of your vehicle, but for mixed martial arts fans, the numerous billboards highlighting Saturday’s Strikeforce event is the most splendid.
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... I listened to Fedor speak through a translator for two hours. And that was honestly the best quote he said... |
Nate Schafer
said:
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... This card is stacked. Strikeforce is making some big moves. Lindland vs. Jacare just got announced today. Sounds like a Hendo signing might get announced on Saturday. Hendo vs. Mousasi would be nice to see. |
john
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... Fedor should easily pick Rogers apart and probably Zulu him. Rogers is very sloppy and pretty slow but goddamn does he hit hard! Brett has a punchers chance but Fedor is just better in every area. If for some reason he does clip Fedor on the chin, they should set up an immediate rematch. |
Paul Fladten
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... I just left the weighins. Henderson was there with Sokoudjou, and besides Fedor and Mayhem, the crowd cheered the loudest for Hendo. If I had to guess, I would say he's signed to SF within a week. Also, a nickname has never been so perfect as Antonio Silvas. I couldn't tell if he was super intimidating or super goofy looking. He's super both. |
Jason Kazmierczak
said:
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... Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title) Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (non-title match) Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum |
Jason Kazmierczak
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... My Picks: Fedor Emelianenko Jake Shields Champ Gegard Mousasi Antonio Silva |
UFC Notes
said:
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Fedor wins by submission in 1st I think Fedor wins via submission quick in the 1sr round over Rogers. I think Rogers' only chance of winning is landing a huge knockout blow (like Henderson did at UFC 100). But I just dont see that happening. Fedor is way too skilled and will take this to the ground and will win quickly. |
Paul Fladten
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... During the weigh-ins I was sitting next to the CBS officials who determined the broadcasting schedule, they were nervous about the time constraints of the broadcast as they didn't want it to cut into CSI. Later on, I heard one guy imply that a huge reason why the Mousasi/Sokoudjou match is non-title is because of the possibility of it going 5 rounds. They must have never seen Sokoudjou fight before... |
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