FEDOR
vs. ROGERS Results Strikeforce/M-1
Global ©
Marc Wickert Before
a packed house of 11,512 MMA fans at the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago,
the world’s greatest fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, brought Brett
Rogers’s undefeated 10-0 run to an end when “The Last Emperor”
defeated Rogers by TKO (strikes) at 1:48 into the second round, taking
Fedor’s stats to 31-0-0-1. Many
fans are now predicting Alistair Overeem will be Fedor Emelianenko’s
next opponent. In
earlier matches: Christian
Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes by unanimous decision. Shamar
Bailey def. John Kolosci by unanimous decision. Jeff
Curran def. Dustin Neace by verbal submission – 1.39, Round One. Marloes
Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi by armbar – 1.05, Round One. Fabricio
Werdum def. Antonio Silva by unanimous decision. Gegard
Mousasi def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by TKO – 3.43, Round 2. Jake
Shields def. Jason Miller by unanimous decision after five rounds.
STRIKEFORCE:
©Marc
Wickert On
November 7, one of the biggest showdowns in MMA history will take place
at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, when rising
heavyweight sensation Brett Rogers (10-0) faces the world’s greatest
heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko (30-0-0-1*), at Strikeforce: Fedor vs.
Rogers. A
Strikeforce Media Event took place five days out from this highly
anticipated heavyweight clash where both men seemed relaxed,
calculating, and eager to get on with the fight. Fedor
is the consummate professional, so it’s not by accident that he is
widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter in the world, and that he
takes all his fights seriously – particularly his bout with Brett.
“Usually we come to the United States one week prior to the fight, but
this time we came 10 days prior to the event. We have a gym in the
hotel and I’ve been working out with my coaches.” Brett,
who left a trail of carnage from his previous 10 opponents says,
“I’ve studied tapes on him (Emelianenko). I don’t know how
many conditioning coaches, different styles of coaches, I have… I’m
confident and I’m comfortable, and I can’t wait to go.” Brett
later added: “I feel like I know him. I haven’t fought him
yet, but I feel like I know him, and I’m just going to be focused –
keeping my head straight. The way I see it, I have his style down:
He likes to come out and throw his hands for a little while, and then
try to take you down, so all I have to do is wait for him to take me
down. He’s not going to be able to handle me standing up, so
that’s just the way I see it.” Brett
says what separates him from the rest of Fedor’s challengers is
“coming from nothing and wanting to be something in my life –
that’s where I get my confidence.” Emelianenko
insists he is not concerned about fighting in a cage for the first time.
“I think my submission or striking technique does not depend actually
on the surroundings in the ring or in the cage,” says Fedor. However
Rogers, who has cage experience, thought otherwise: “It is different
fighting in the ring and in the cage. Like he (Emelianenko) says,
as far as your strategy goes, it doesn’t matter, but it is going to
matter when he’s used to ducking out of the ring… You can’t do
that in the cage, so I’m going to use that to my advantage to lock it
up.” Knucklepit
asked Brett: Do you believe Fedor’s main objective will be to take the
fight to the ground, or do you think he will be prepared to stand and
bang with you? “I
cannot see him wanting to stand and bang with me the whole fight.
He’s definitely going to try and shoot in – submissions are his
A-game.” Knucklepit
asked Fedor: Are you keen to test Brett’s stand-up skills, or will you
want to take the action to the ground early in the fight? “I
cannot tell you exactly right now what will be in the fight or how the
fight will be going: Everything will depend on what my opponent will
offer me and what I will be able to offer my opponent.” Knucklepit
asked Strikeforce President Scott Coker: Will we be seeing Strikeforce
events on p-p-v in Australia? “That’s
a good question… I believe so. I believe that we will have some
type of announcement to make in the next two to three weeks, but we did
sign on with an international distributor that’s going to be
distributing our product all over the world.” So,
Scott, there’s no way that we’ll see this fight in Australia? “You
know what? I can get that list to you, but I’m not sure right
now.” For
more on Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers www.strikeforce.com *Knucklepit
does not acknowledge Fedor Emelianenko’s loss to Tsuyoshi Kosaka at
King of Rings on December 22, 2000, which occurred when the fight was
halted after 17 seconds due to Fedor being cut by an illegal blow. Fortunately, Emelianenko avenged the inappropriate TKO decision by defeating Kosaka via TKO at Pride-Boshida 6 on April 3, 2005.
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