Fedor vs. Brett Rogers Announced:
http://mmamania.com/2009/08/26/fedor...ght-announced/
Strikeforce announced today at an open media workout in New York City that its prized free agent acquisition, Fedor Emelianenko (30-1), will make his promotional debut against undefeated hard-hitting heavyweight prospect, Brett Rogers (10-0).
No confirmed date or location is available at this time; however, the showdown is likely to happen on a Showtime-produced card sometime in November.
Emelianenko — a former Pride FC Heavyweight Champion and Affliction MMA headliner — recently signed a multi-fight contract with the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion under a special co-promotion agreement with M-1 Global.
“The Last Emperor” was in cruise control under the Affliction MMA banner after back-to-back wins over former UFC heavyweight champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.
He was in line for a WAMMA title defense against Josh Barnett at the Aug. 1 “Trilogy” event until “The Babyface Assassin” got popped for steroids in a random pre-fight drug test.
The cash-strapped promotion closed up shop shortly thereafter, leaving Emelianenko (once again) the hottest free agent in mixed martial arts. After a hot and heavy pursuit from the UFC, Emelianenko opted to sign with Strikeforce primarily because of the co-promotion caveat.
Rogers is coming off a devastating knockout win over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at the “Lawler vs. Shields” event from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., on June 6.
Rogers was a +300 underdog heading into the fight but needed just 0
2 seconds to put “The Pitbull” to sleep — the second time for Arlovski in as many fights.
“The Grimm,” now 10-0, looks poised to capitalize on his new found stature. “This sport is all about timing,” he said. “This fight took me to the next level and now is definitely my time. Everyone saw tonight that I am not one to play with.”
We’ll find out soon enough as he now prepares to take on arguably the top mixed martial arts fighter on the planet.