Strikeforce returns to action this Saturday night and will finally be able to utilize the most valuable asset they acquired when they purchased ProElite’s assets – the CBS Saturday Night Fights contract.
Will Strikeforce be able to have a decent showing and begin to make a name for themselves in the general consciousness of the average MMA fan in North America. To their credit, Strikeforce is putting on a very solid fight card, with four strong fights on the main televised portion for CBS. Time will tell what kind of success Strikeforce can gain from the CBS-Showtime deal, but for MMA fans, we are in for another night of good, free fights.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers – Um, do we really even need to discuss this fight at all?
Outside of calling himself “The Grim” and having a tough-guy mohawk, what exactly does Brett Rogers have going for himself in this fight?
A win over James Thompson? Wow, stellar. A victory over Ron Humphries? Well tickle me pink. A victory over Andrei Arlovski? Impressive, but not that impressive considering it was against the 2009 version of Arlovski and not the 2004-05 version.
Fedor is Fedor. Period. Nothing else needs to be said.
Fedor is Fedor.
Rogers has no chance.
Fedor is Fedor.
Fedor is Fedor.
Fedor is Fedor.
Fedor is Fedor.
Winner: Fedor Emelianenko
Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller – Jake Shields insists he is still on a machine to get the “respect” that he deserves as a fighter. Personally, I don’t think anyone is sleeping on Jake Shields anymore and that he has all the respect he deserves. Nevertheless, Shields is now trying his hand at middleweight in an attempt to prove his worth and mettle as a competitor.
To me, Jason Miller seems like a perfect opponent for Shield’s debut before a national audience on CBS. While Jason Miller is more known for his flamboyant speech and mannerisms, behind that facade is a truly talented fighter. Miller also brings some huge national name recognition with the younger audience to this fight after his two successful season’s hosting a show on MTV.
Miller has looked strong in his recent battles with Ronaldo Souza, and his grappling in their first matchup was solid. However, I have a strong suspicion that his grappling just isn’t anywhere near good enough to compete with Jake Shields. Shields has turned into something of a submission savant in recent months.
While Miller should put on a good show as always and give Shields a decent test, I fully expect the night to end with Shields holding both the middleweight and welterweight Strikeforce belts above his head.
Winner: Jake Shields
Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Sokoudjou – I don’t really think much analysis needs to be given to the Mousasi vs. Sokoudjou fight. This is a matchup of two fighters headed in completely different directions in their respective careers.
Sokoudjou enjoyed quick notoriety when he quickly dispatched Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in PrideFC back in 2007, but quickly fizzled out and was never able to capitalize on the hype he had created. Losses to Lyoto Machida, Luiz Cane, and Renato Sobral have left the Team Quest member languishing in the DREAM “Super Hulk” tournament, MMA’s version of a circus side show.
Gegard Mousasi, on the other hand, continues to climb to new heights in his career and is now attacking the light heavyweight division. With a 26-2 record, Mousasi rolled through the Japanese middleweight scene losing only to Akihiro Gono in 2006 before winning the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix in 2008.
Mousasi has won his last 13 fights using all many of stoppages to get it done. I see Mousasi defeating Sokou anyway he pleases; by strikes, submission or total humiliation.
Winner: Gegard Mousasi
Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva – Conventional wisdom probably dictates that the more experience Fabricio Werdum should take this fight easily. Werdum has fought vastly superior fighters over his career and is the much better grappler.
However, I’ve watched both these men fight multiple times over the past few years, and I’m going to go against “conventional wisdom” here.
Antonio Silva is really an enigma of a fighter. Silva is surprising quick on his feet for a fighter of his size, and has, what may be a surprise to some, a decent ground game as well.
In my opinion, Werdum simply hasn’t looked impressive at all in his recent fights (save the victory over Gabriel Gonzaga) and I think Silva’s size and striking will give him a run for his money in this fight.
If Werdum show’s up in good shape and with a good game plane (i.e. taking the fight to the ground for a submission) he could very easily win this fight quickly; if not, I look for Silva to win via decision.
Winner: Antonio Silva
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tom b
Ben Cartlidge
Shawn Smith
JStein
StuDog
LaM
Angelina
Fedor…. .is FEDOR — lmbo!
In a way I hope Fedor loses, but in another way I don’t want it to be Rogers. If Rogers gets off a lucky punch every moron out there will act like he is much better than he really is. Should be an easy win for Fedor. I wish he would test himself against better comp. By the time he gets to the ufc he will be washed up and lose his debut. and I may be wrong but isn’t this the first time Fedor has fought in a cage?
also war mayhem!
Bigfoot should be in the ufc I think he is a future champ. if he would stay off the roids.
I need to see more out of Mousasi before I pass judgement.
It sucks that Brock is sick they should probably just make another interim title. have Nog and carwin fight for it.
Banned, why do you want Fedor to lose?
I would like to see him lose because I’m sick off his hype. IMO he is not the best pfp fighter in mma. over time I get annoyed with fighters that never lose. like Fedor and Anderson Silva. I really hate their fans that ride that band wagon all the way to the end. most mma fans are ignorant like the ones jumping on pat barry’s wagon. I mean really? and Brett Rogers? what in the world has he done? it sickens me. I’m tired of Fedor dodging the ufc maybe if he gets destroyed his stock will go down and he will finally come crawling to dana’s door. of course then he will probably get a lower offer. IMO Fedor is not worth what the ufc offered him. you know as soon as he gets there he will end up like cro cop.
to me all u just said now is all HATE with nothing to back it up with except they win to much,simple fact that every sport has its #1 of all time BASEBALL ruth BASKETBALL jordan GOLF woods FOOTBALL favre????? MMA fedor…………
im with Rich on this on, like he said every sport has that guy, the icon, the unstoppable. and like all the other great athletes of the past Fedor seems to be the next generation now. Fedor has proven that no one can hang with him EVERY time he fights, it not just a good win% or a long win streak, he wins every fight.
Banned, personally im one of those guys that never jumps off the band wagon unless something really bad happens. Guys like Mirko, Wanderlei, BJ, and Fedor i will ALWAYS be a big fan of because of what they have accomplished.
Wandy and Mirko are guys who came to the UFC at the tail end of their career and are losing almost every fight. I dont flip flop on these guys because theyre losing fights, theyre legends in my book and nobody can ever erase what they have done. Same with Sakuraba, he should have hung it up a while ago but hes still out there putting it on the line fighting 20 year olds. Did you see his last fight at Dream? amazing comeback to win by kneebar after getting beaten up for like 5 min straight.
Now about Anderson Silva and Fedor, Im confused by that, your saying it annoys you that because of their winning ways the fans love them. So you just want them to lose so people would get off their nuts or something? I think the problem with that is like i said earlier, people will still be on their nuts even AFTER they lose (like me). Its not about winning and losing in terms of fan fare, its because they have achieved great things in the world of MMA and we love to see them fight.
About Fedor joining the UFC (ill keep it brief) its very simple. Fedor is a partner in M-1 and hes definately the biggest free agent in MMA, meaning he makes ALOT more money outside the UFC. How can you expect a guy to bury his own promotion and go sign with his competitors? it just doesnt make sense economically. Ofcourse i wish Fedor was in the UFC, but its just not in the cards man. Instead of saying Fedor sucks, etc over the years, Dana should have grabbed Fedor right after Pride or maybe DURING Pride before he got completely intertwined with M-1. Now they cant get Fedor unless they co-promote with M-1 which they wont do (which makes sense, i wouldnt either in their shoes).
So there you have it, thats where we are so Fedors not ducking anyone and he doesnt NEED to crawl to Dana to fight for peanuts and lose all likeness rights and who knows what other BS clauses are in UFC contracts, they basically own you.
But don’t you guys want to see who pulls it off and beats fedor and or anderson? like when shogan showed everyone that machida isn’t unbeatable. I love it when it happens like when people started figuring out chuck and the same happened to matt Hughes. I want to see someone dethrone the top guys. I don’t want it to be Brett Rogers. IMO he is no different that kimbo. not an mma fighter. when I say most mma fans or should I say ufc fans are ignorant im talking about how they jump off and on bandwagons before the fighter even proves himself. yes Fedor has done many amazing things but he needs to fight in the ufc before the end of his career. to secure his legacy he must when the ufc title. by the way im a big machida fan but he lost that fight. but if they rematch I think machida would have a different game plan as would shogun but machida would probably win the rematch. Fedor is not unbeatable no fighter is he will get caught and if he isn’t careful he going to lose to someone that shouldn’t even have been in the ring with him. like Rogers.
ok Banned that makes more sense to me, in the case of guys who seem unbeatable and are dominant champs for a long time i DO want to see someone best them. Not to say i want them to lose, but when they are destroying their opponents and its not even competative anymore it does tend to get a bit repetative.
Anderson for example, i dont hate the guy for being a great fighter, but the way hes been embarrasing guys doesnt make for exciting main event fights. Like his fights with Leites, Cote and Forrest havent been very entertaining. It seems like im always cheering for the contender against Anderson especially after he crushed my boy Franklin.
Like Lesnar, no question that hes an incredible athlete for his size and like it or not, hes the man right now. Hes one of the guys who i want to see dethroned, not because i hate him or his fans, its more like who can slay the dragon type of thing.
ive been telling my bro that these top guys seem to usually fall to the guy u never would have thaught not a chance in h#ll,rampage-forrest,gsp-serra,mir-big nog………so u never know but like dr j said it
FEDOR IS FEDOR!!!!!!!!
oooooops i meant BIG NOG-MIR
Thats a good point Richard, the thing is, those big upsets tend to be very exciting because its like holy sht! never saw that coming. Especially the Serra over GSP, thats the biggest cinderella story in MMA history hands down. At least with Forrest and Mir they had a chance to win, but NOBODY was backing Serra except him and his team.
About Fedor and Rogers, theres definately a chance Rogers can win, man hes HUGE! Fedor always fights big guys but that doesnt mean its easy hehe. Thats why theres weight classes because size transcends skill unless theres a HUGE difference in skill level (which there is) but all it takes is one big shot from Rogers to hurt ANYONE including Fedor.
Im nervous about this fight guys, this is a big guy with a long reach and good boxing (by mma standards). Im seeing a 1st round armbar or kimura by Fedor but if he gets caught! man oh man….
Sorry, guys, not many updates from me this weekend. My wife had our second child this morning so I’ll be out of commission today and tomorrow.
If any of you guys have any articles you want to write, just email them to me and I’ll throw them up online.
If I don’t talk to you guys before Saturday night, enjoy the fights.
oh sht! congratz Doc! cigars all around :)
boy/girl? how big? let hear some details…… congrates bro!!
lol sorry about that.
Baby girl named Aimee Lauren. 9 lbs 1 oz.
sweet, so now you and the wife have the million dollar family. a 9 pounder eh? it sound like you got a big, healthy baby girl there, good stuff man.
Sengoku anyone? just started
http://www.justin.tv/emmatv25
i got to the end of the Randleman fight before i couldnt keep my eyes open anymore, that and i was bummed out that the Monster lost a close one lol.
hehe ya, overall it was a decent event, Randleman was disappointing to watch ive heard hes a blue belt in BJJ now, not that it made any difference in his fighting style. Best part of that fight was where The Voice said hes got more mussels than a sushi dinner or something like that.
Gono still looks tentative about exchanging….
how bout PeeWee getting the Ko from… umm how do you describe it? axe kicks to the face while both guys are laying on their backs. lol very strange but thats one i havent seen before, i mean, ive seen it happen just never ending in a KO like the guy was sleeping after.
Masvidal looked pretty good, i didnt realize he was the underdog in that fight but he seemed to get the win easily like i thought he would.
How about Santigao getting KOed! wow, Schiavello was calling for the defibrillator after that one lol.
as a long time fan of the Monster its hard to watch him fight anymore, ether hes just not engaging or hes getting worked over and his fans dont want to see ether. lol tell someone whos not an MMA fans to picture this, one guy KOs the other while both are on there backs…. with a kick! lol AND the guy who did it they call Pee Wee Herman lmao. Gono looked scared as sh*t no if, buts, or whats about it, the only time he looked any kind of confident was when he hurt the guy a couple of times, but even then he was hesitant and let buddy come back. im gonna re watch the whole thing probably tomorrow because the first time i watched it i was kinda in zombie mode lol.