Brett Rogers is being given (slight) chances to beat
Fedor Emelianenko based on his ability to punch a hole into concrete; little has been seen of him working the canvas, where Emelianenko is incredibly slick. In his favor:
Mark Hunt, a ground novice who clocked in near Rogers’ 280-pound frame for his 2006 fight with Fedor, kept Emelianenko immobile for several minutes. But if all he can hope for is some brief control, it’s less of a shot at winning and more a stay of execution.
A victory is a victory, but for several minutes against
Andrei Arlovski, Emelianenko looked uneasy and ineffective. Rogers doesn’t have the “clean” hands of Arlovski, but he’s quick and can send you to the triage with one solid shot. Emelianenko can’t afford to take that kind of pressure during a first round warm-up.
The manner and method in which
Gegard Mousasi disarmed the durable
Renato Sobral in August cemented the idea that the fighter could make as big a name for himself in the states as he has in Japan. Fighting
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who has long since removed himself from top-ten status, would appear to be a step back; the Judo player lost to Sobral earlier in the year, and his two most recent victories came against non-ambulatory bodies like
Bob Sapp and
Jan Nortje.
A Mousasi/Mo Lawal bout would be interesting;
Dan Henderson, if he signs, could rattle some people. Get past that and Strikeforce’s 205-pound division wouldn’t fill a phone booth.
Jason Miller, who appropriately parades around with a megaphone as the host of MTV’s deaf-and-dumb “Bully Beatdown” series, will contend for an interim 185-pound belt against
Jake Shields on CBS. Strangely, there’s been little attention paid to that built-in audience: if Jeff Probst had a prizefight scheduled, you’d think people would want to check it out.
Before an unexpected knockout loss doled out by
Eric Pele in 2006,
Antonio Silva’s combination of size, striking, and jiu-jitsu had him earmarked as a serious problem for
Fedor Emelianenko. While it’s still the only blemish on his record, Silva has seen that talk die down in light of a positive steroid test in 2008 and a lack of high-profile opponents. Defeating respected
Fabricio Werdum Saturday could help his case considerably, particularly if he impresses viewers biding time and burping nachos before the main event.
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