Strikeforce “Fedor vs. Rogers” will take place tomorrow, November 7, at the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois and will air live (west coast tape delay) on CBS at 9PM ET/PT.
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The Fights
Minus (-) = favorite | Plus (+) = underdog
With a line of -150 & +150, you would have to wager $150 to win $100 if you’re picking the favorite. You would win $150 for every $100 if you bet on the underdog assuming he won.
Good luck!
Preview and picks after the jump.
Fedor Emelianenko (-550) vs Brett Rogers (+375)
Did we ever think this day would come? After years of watching Fedor Emelianenko fight overseas and on a few pay-per-views hardly anyone saw, Fedor will fight on primetime network television in front of millions of viewers. I’ll stop short of calling it a showcase fight for Fedor, because his opponent, Brett Rogers, does pose one specific threat but in all likelihood that’s exactly what this fight will be for Fedor — a showcase.
We all know the story with Fedor. He’s arguably the greatest mixed martial artist to ever compete in this sport. He’s virtually undefeated with 31 professional fights under his belt. He’s not necessarily “great” at any one aspect of MMA, but he ties them together into one complete package better than anyone we’ve ever seen. Meanwhile, Brett Rogers is a hungry up-and-comer. He’s paid his dues on the lower levels and knocked a few lower-level guys out in EliteXC last year, but his greatest achievement came earlier this year when he knocked out Fedor victim #26 and former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovksi in 22 seconds. That win put him in the top ten of most people’s lists, but still a lot of questions remain about Brett Rogers.
We know Rogers has the punching power to put anyone’s lights out in this sport, but we don’t know what else he can do. If you listen to his manager, Mike Reilly, Rogers will rip off your arm or your leg if you give it to him after he slams you to the canvas with such a thunderous force you’ll have wished you had a “parachute” for the ride down. It all sounds great, and maybe Brett is capable of all those things, but nothing we’ve seen thus far suggests he is, especially against Fedor.
Technically, Rogers has the “size advantage,” but is that really the case? Not one of the giants Fedor has ever faced has ever put him in any significant trouble. They all have one thing in common — they’re slow — and Fedor has proved time and time again his unrivaled speed in the heavyweight division is more than enough to overcome any substantial differences in height and weight.
As much as I would like to create a compelling case for Rogers, I can’t. He has a “puncher’s chance.” Ideally, he’d like to bully Fedor around the cage like Arlovski and trap him against the fence, but Rogers doesn’t have Arlovski’s technical boxing skills. He’s much closer in style to Tim Sylvia than “The Pitbull,” and we all know what happened there. Sure, Brett poses a threat with his power but his windows of opportunity will be few and far between. One of the most important aspects of Fedor’s game that’s often overlooked is his intelligence. He might be the one fighter who’s better at game planning than Randy Couture, and you can bet Fedor will be smart enough not to give Brett any unnecessary chances to put his lights out. Even if he does manage to rock Fedor, Brett can’t hesitate to finish, because like a wounded animal, Fedor is most dangerous when he’s in trouble.
Unless the cage proves to play a major factor in Fedor’s performance or there’s a fluke cut, I don’t see much reason to believe Brett Rogers won’t become another one of Fedor’s victims. Brett may have all the confidence in the world now, but he’s never been in the cage with someone like Fedor and he’s going to quickly find out his opponent is on an entirely different level than anyone he’s ever fought before.
Fedor by Submission in Round 1
Jake Shields (-300) vs Jason “Mayhem” Miller (+220)
Saturday night is Mayhem Miller’s coming out party. He’s made a name for himself on MTV’s Bully Beatdown and fought all over the US in Japan, but he’s never had the opportunity to fight on the stage he’ll be on tomorrow night. Win or lose, one thing is guaranteed, Mayhem will make it entertaining from his crazy ring entrance to the moment he exits the cage.
Mayhem has an extremely tough test in front of him though. Jake Shields is no joke. He’s easily the favorite and has a sick jiu-jitsu game that would give anyone problems. However, while Shields excels on the ground, he lacks in his striking game and Mayhem hasn’t been shy about letting everyone know that’s what he intends to exploit. The question is if he can keep on the feet though. Jake isn’t stupid, he’ll pull every trick in the book to get it the ground and if/when he does Mayhem will be fighting an uphill battle.
It has the potential to turn into a great fight, but I think Shields will do enough in the end to become the new Strikeforce middleweight champ.
Shields by Decision
Gegard Mousasi (-500) vs Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (+350)
Gegard Mousasi was supposed to take on Sokoudjou in the semi-finals of DREAM’s Super Hulk tournament. Mousasi apparently got injured and pulled out, but by the magic of Strikeforce’s alliance with DREAM, the fight’s been re-booked and set to broadcast live in our living rooms on Saturday night.
And nope, nothing’s changed, it’s still the mismatch it was before. We all know the story on Sokoudjou. He has tons of power and a background in Judo, but he doesn’t set up any of the cannonballs he throws and severely lacks a ground game. Meanwhile, Mousasi is very well-rounded who’s capable of knocking you out on the feet or submitting you on the ground.
As long as Mousasi can avoid Sok’s early onslaught he shouldn’t have much trouble getting him to the ground and tapping him out with the most convenient submission available.
Mousasi by Submission in Round 1
Fabricio Werdum (-170) vs Antonio Silva (+140)
Werdum-Silva should be the most competitive fight on the card. Werdum’s stand-up is average, but he has world championship level jiu-jitsu. Silva’s ground game should be good enough for him to survive if the fight ends up there, but he wants to keep it on the feet if he can. Silva will be significantly larger than Werdum so that could play a factor in the fight as well. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Silva pulls it out, but I think Werdum will score enough on the ground to earn a decision.
Werdum by Decision


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