Strikforce: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers

[jmt225]

Main card

• Heavyweight bout: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers
• Middleweight Championship bout: Jake Shields vs. Jason Miller
• Light Heavyweight bout: Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
• Heavyweight bout: Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva

.................................................​

The old thread got filled with a debate, and I didn't want this HUGE announcement to get ignored, so I thought I'd make a new thread about this fight.

But yeah... it has been announced that Strikforce's Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers fight will air November 7th on CBS! Awesome, right? Well, that's not all. Also on the card will be Jake Shields vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and both Gegard Mousasi and Cyborg will have fights that evening as well it seems. Now THAT is a stacked fucking card!

Thoughts? What are you hoping to see with these fights? What do you think the UFC will do to counter this show: Replay an event, or put up a stacked Fight Night of their own? If YOU were the UFC, how would you compete with this?

 

[INDYjon22]

With this announcement I am pretty hype for it now. Fedor vs. Rogers looks great on paper. It has upset written all over it though I dont think it'll happen. Shields vs. Miller will be a great fuckin fight. Fight of the night no doubt in my mind. Plus the best female fighter in the world and one of the best light heavyweights in the world will prove for some entertainment. This card will do wonders for strikeforce and the best part is its on cbs!!!!! Free fuckin tv. Sure they might not make money on this card but it will build interest in the company as a whole and get people to actually get showtime. I think that the UFC will probably put on a replay of one of the ppv's. I will be watching strikeforce regardless unless Anderson Silva is bumping up to heavyweight and fighting Lesnar. That will be the one exception.

 

[jmt225]

I will be watching strikeforce regardless unless Anderson Silva is bumping up to heavyweight and fighting Lesnar. That will be the one exception.

Lol... that would be pretty epic.

But honestly, I really think Anderson Silva headlining a Fight Night is something the UFC just might do. They did it before with his fight against James Irvin. The question is though, who would he face? Right now the best guess would have to be Dan Henderson, I would assume; however, Frank Mir probably shouldn't be ruled out either. Neither should someone like Wandy as well, since there's a bit of a feud there and since Wandy is still a bit of a draw. Also, if Vitor Belfort beats Franklin quickly, that's another option.

If the UFC does decide to counter this show with a Fight Night, then they have to have Anderson Silva headline it, so then they could promote it as 'The Legit Pound 4 Pound Fighter in the World'. That's their best chance of stealing viewers in my opinion, because they'll never put Brock Lesnar on free TV, and the same case goes for GSP, because they're just too big of pay-per-view draws to do so. However, Anderson Silva has never been a huge draw, even with his billing as the best in the World, so you don't lose money having him fight on free TV.

 

[INDYjon22]

Yeah I could see them putting on a fight night on the same night. But one problem that would arise would be that it would have to be put together fairly fast and with enough time to promote it and get a venue and get a good attendance for that venue which depends on many variables from the city to the arena to any sports teams in that area and if they are playing at the same time. Plus I dont think they would put Silva on a fight night against Henderson or Marquardt because that would basically be a free title fight and the UFC don't want to do that. Yes they wanna put on the best fights they can but not title fights. Silva would have to be pited against another light heavy or maybe his debut at heavy.

 

[Rizza]

Fedor, Rogers, Sheilds, Cyborg, and fucking Mousasi, holy shit, this card is stacked all to hell, I just hope I get off of work for this.

Fedor vs Rogers
Going to be awesome, granted that I've only seen one Rogers fight, you know that one were he just embarrassed Arvlowski? Yea that one. So I can't really judge much more then his striking, but god damn his striking is impressive. That being said, I see Fedor taking this one, the experience he has along with his great wrestling game will give him the win here. I know that Brett Rodgers is a bad man with his hands, and I won't go as far to say he can't knock Fedor out, I just think he won't. Fedor has fought hard hitters before, and has came out on top every time. How he will win though? I have know idea. Fedor can beat a man in a professional fight a 100 ways, so it would be silly of me to call how he takes this one.

The other fights i'm interested in is Shields vs Miller ,and anything involving Gegard Mousasi, but since his oppenent hasn't been anounced yet, I'l just profess my love for Jake Shields. No, But really I am a fan of the guy, and I hope he hands his opposition a stern ass whippen'. Speaking of the guy he's fighting, I believe I seen in the fighter profile I pulled on him, that its the guy who hosts Bully Beatdown? I've only seen a single episode so I don't know his name or what he looks like, but if it is him, then this only strengthens my desire for him to get pummeled by Shields. I'm not a bashing Bully Beatdown or nothing like that, as its a decent show in all(I'm guessing because the episode I seen wasn't that bad), so I guess there is no real explanation, except maybe other then they might consider me a bully, and they might come to my house, and forced me to get my ass kicked by an MMA fighter. For real though, I see Shields taking this one, I've never seen a fight of his but I'l be honest, just from comparing records, Jake Shields looks like he should be in for a win here, but we all know how MMA goes and anybody can win so I won't count Miller out one bit, but I will predict a Jake Shields win by decision.

As for what UFC combats this with who knows, I don't know the date for this but I assume it is long way away. I suspect it will either be A UFC fight night , or a replayed PPV. I hope they go with the latter because a replayed PPV I wouldn't care about, and wouldn't have to tune into or even think about tuning into. A UFC Fight Night on the other hand I might have to watch or at least would have to check the play by play, which would distract me from the amazing event that strikeforce would be putting on.


EDIT: I just seen In JMT's post that its on November 7th, I definitely see a UFC fight night being thrown together for this one.

 

[Kasey]

Hallelujah. This fight is going to tell a lot about the roster moves that Coker has made. Either way, Strikeforce wins. Fedor wins and it's business as usual while they promote his name and help to milk the remainder of his legacy stateside (with some potentially solid matchups against guys like Overeem, Werdum or even Sergei). On the other hand? Rogers winning would give Coker a homegrown world beater with instant street cred as the man who dethroned the G.O.A.T.

I really think that although Rogers is lethal, his street cred was falsely solidifed in the Arlovski win. Don't get me wrong. A 22-second KO of a former two-time UFC champ who was just ranked number two in the world isn't anything to slough off. However, as evidenced by a trip to Sherdog's fight finder, Fedor stops streaks and strips souls out of the motherfuckers like he's taking candy from a baby. Andrei stupidly accepted this fight without proper recovery from the laser-shot that Fedor changed his religion with. All because he was looked forward to a summer boxing debut that never came to pass when he should've been sitting on the sidelines getting the remainder of his glass jaw back in order. Aside from that, though? Rogers has shit for wins and hasn't been remotely tested by a fighter like Fedor. A guy who's dangerous in EVERY facet of the game. I hope that Brett is really focusing on his ground game, because if it gets there, he's not going to be rolling with James fucking Thompson. That much is certain. If he somehow KO's Fedor, then he'll be The Man. IF.

 

[kingdirrtysouth1]

This is great news. I knew about the FEDOR/ROGERS fight, but this is a hell of a card & I had no idea it would be on CBS! I'm looking forward to it! I like the fact that Cyborg will be fighting that night as she will get show of that belt & show the world the SHE should be considered the real face of women's MMA after beating Gina in the first round to win that belt. Also, I'm kind of hoping Rogers defeaats Fedor. Imagine how his star will shine if he delivers a KO Emelianenko live on network tv!

Of course UFC will counter Strikeforce that night. I would be shocked if they didn't. It would be so unlike DANA to not throw out a counter-strike against the competition.

Lol... that would be pretty epic.
they'll never put Brock Lesnar on free TV, and the same case goes for GSP, because they're just too big of pay-per-view draws to do so.

I watched a vid yesterday of an interview with Dana where he said that by this time next year, he WILL put on PPV main event caliber fights for free on network tv! While I don't think it will happen on November 7th , I'm just saying it it is possible.

Here's what he thinks about the big Nov 7 event:
[youtube]VDCJaQFBaPQ[/youtube]

 

[jmt225]

I watched a vid yesterday of an interview with Dana where he said that by this time next year, he WILL put on PPV main event caliber fights for free on network tv! While I don't think it will happen on November 7th , I'm just saying it it is possible.

Yeah, but I guarantee that main event will not include Brock Lesnar or GSP. In fact, Dana gave hints that the first main event for a network television show was going to be BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez, but as of right now... nothing has been announced.

Anyway, just read Anderson Silva is going to have elbow surgery, so yeah... he won't be fighting until 2010. So we can forget my idea of him headlining a show that counters Fedor vs. Rogers. But there's still plenty of other options out there.... maybe a Mir/Nog rematch (both guys want it), or even BJ vs. Diego being bumped down to the 7th of November, instead of waiting for December. You never know with Dana White and his competitiveness.

 

[Fizzy]

Stacked as hell. While Bret Rodgers is good, hes far from best in the world. He has a punchers chance in the fight, but Fedor is just to good for him. Fedor will do what Fedor does in every fight and dominate him. I am excited about seeing Mayhem fight again. I love the guy. Hes got such energy, and makes me laugh every fucking time I see him. Wasn't Jake Shields on Mayhem's show? Bit off topic, but I swear he was. Either way I love Jake Shields and am excited as fuck for this. Can't wait to see Fedor dominate, and am really looking forward to the Mayhem-Shields fight

 

[jmt225]

Thanks for bumping this, Fizzy.

Guys, I edited the first post to give everyone an update on the show. Check it out. Here are my thoughts on everything:

Fedor vs. Brett Rogers I see ending quickly, with Fedor rocking him, getting Rogers on the ground, and finishing him there. I just think Rogers is too green to beat someone like Fedor. Sure, he has a puncher's chance, but you need more than that to beat a fighter the caliber of Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor is just too good, and I guarantee he'll be fully prepared for anything Rogers has to throw at him, which won't be anything other than bombs.

I'm actually more excited for Mayhem vs. Shields than I am for the main event, to be honest. I'm a huge fan of both those guys. They're both tremendous fighters who show up to fight and put on an entertaining show. However, I'm having a hard time making a prediction on this one. Right now I'm leaning towards Shields catching Mayhem in a submission, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Mayhem knocked Shields out, or won a decision. Either way, it's going to be an awesome, awesome fight.

In the last few days there have been a LOT of rumors floating around Gegard Mousasi's opponent. At one point it was promised to be King Mo, and I was instantly thrilled with the news. However, unfortunately... King Mo's camp couldn't reach an agreement with Strikeforce, so instead we're stuck with Mousasi having to face Sokoudjou, which basically makes this a squash match. Mousasi's going to destroy this guy in the first round, 100% guaranteed. Also, it should be noted this fight is NOT for the Mousasi's Light Heavyweight Championship.

And lastly... there's Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva. I'm actually excited to see how Werdum does against someone like Bigfoot. This is Werdum's toughest fight since leaving the UFC, and I can't wait to see if he can pull this one out. I don't see him doing so, to be honest... but still, it's a very interesting fight.

Overall, great card. Every fight should have a finish, and the show should flow along really well, like most of Strikeforce's shows do. It'll be a good debut for them on CBS I'm sure. Really looking forward to it.

 

[bealzer1010]

Did anyone else catch the Fight Camp 360, on Showtime last night? It was just like a HBO 24/7 series but summed up in one show! I liked it, it gave people a chance to get to know about Fedor and Rogers and see them in their camps preparing for their fight. Never knew Fedor was so religious, gotta say his wife looks like a Russian mail order bride, not meaning an insult since they are usually hot! It seems his trainers are sure they have Rogers figured out, I'm thinking they right since Fedor has that amazing 30-1 record! On to Rogers, He seems really really confident that he's just gonna go in and destroy Fedor. His camp thinks they see weaknesses in Fedor, but I wonder if Rogers is a skilled enough fighter to be able to expose them? I'm thinking he's not!! I just wish they made it a hour and would've gave us the other half hour with Shelids/Miller. Like mostly everyone else I want to see this fight more!!

 

[NSL]

I'm actually pretty excited for this show. Marquis got me into Rogers, so I'll be cheering him, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Fedor pull off a great win. This should be a good match from bell to bell...I don't think this fight has the chance to be a bust, because both men can really land some heavy punches.

As far as the undercard, I'll be honest, I don't know much about a lot of those guys, but I'll be watching intently...

 

[jmt225]

THIS IS TOMORROW NIGHT, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

Can you tell I'm excited? Fuck yeah I am, as any fan of MMA should be. This is going to be such an epic show.

I have to admit, I've had yet to see Fedor Emelianenko fight live. Nope, every Fedor fight I've had the pleasure of watching was either on DVD, or on the internet. Never live on pay-per-view, or on free TV. So, this actually feels like my first Fedor experience, and man does it have me pumped up! Fuck Alabama vs. LSU or any NBA games that night, this is what I'll be watching, cheering my head off for Fedor to beat the living hell out of Brett Rogers. I cannot wait!

But that's not all to be excited about. Two of my favorite fighters in the sport, Jake Shields and Mayhem Miller will be going one on one. This very well could end up being the best fight of the year. Both guys have all the talent in the World, and both ALWAYS bring 100% in that cage. It's going to be something else. Also, Mayhem always has an awesome entrance, so I'm looking forward to that as well.

And the other two main card fights interest the hell out of me as well. I'm really, really, really curious to see how Fabricio Werdum will do against someone like Big Silva. If Werdum can pull this victory off, then he will be legit in my eyes, as I've had my doubts about him this past year and a half because of his losses against Arlovski and Junior dos Santos. But with a win against Big Silva.... he'll definitely deserve his rank as a top 10 Heavyweight, because Antonio Silva is no fucking joke.

And as far as the other fight... it's just always a pleasure to see Gegard Mousasi beat the living hell out of someone. So, of course, that'll be really fun.

 

[X]

Damn, thanks for reminding me JMT, I just set up the DVR recording for tomorrow night, I would have been pissed if I had missed out on this fight. I really hope this fight scores CBS some good ratings, it'd be nice to see another MMA organization get some exposure and popularity besides just the UFC. I miss PRIDE for that very reason.

I don't see Rogers offering much of a threat to Fedor though, seems almost like a squash match that would be booked in wrestling.

 

[INDYjon22]

I am so geeked out for strikeforce tonight. Rogers and Fedor is going to be fun to watch and Miller/Shields is going to blow the roof off of the place. I just got the itching feeling that Rogers is gonna shock the world. Now dont get me wrong, im pulling for Fedor and also picking Fedor to win this fight via arm bar, but I wouldnt be one bit surprised to see Rogers catch Fedor and knock him out. Shields versus Mayhem is going to be a rocket buster. Most certainly a fight of the year candidate on paper and i believe itll live up to the hype. I see Shields winning this by unnanamous decision but only after these two beat the living hell out of each other. Shield is just to strong for Miller in my opinion. Mousasi/Soukoudjo is a fight that everyone is talking about being a squash but lets not that forget that Soukodjo does have a knack for knocking out top contendors. This is another fight that I completely expect Mousasi to win but would not be surprised if he got ko'd or tko'd. Silva versus Werdum interests me a lot. Silva is legit and if i remember correctly this is his return fight to America since his steroids troubles. If Werdum looks good and defeats Silva decicively then I see him being Fedors next victim, I mean challenger. I expect Werdum to win and it will look very good on his record. All in all I think this card is stacked as hell especially for free tv and I think it will work very well for Strikeforce in the end. I think itll get a lot more people interested in mma and strikeforce and honestly I believe that this will get Strikeforce on the map as a big time company which is something mma needs right now.

 

[Freddy4190]

Jesus Christ. I've never seen Fedor or Rogers fight, i've heard whisperings about Rogers, and heard the hype about Fedor. That hype turned out to be completely true. What a bad motherfucker Fedor is. I am a MMA noob, definitely. I was watching with my dad who is a even bigger one. The whole card was pretty badass. Shields vs Miller was pretty cool, I wanted Miller to win for some reason. I remember watching Shields in EliteXC and being incredibly impressed. For any of you who for some reason missed this Fedor vs Rogers fight, Fedor knocked the fuck out of Rogers, knocked him out, WITH a broken nose. It had to be broken. What a good card, i'm so glad I watched that.

 

[X]

Good show from what I've seen tonight. The opening fight between Werdum and Silva was one of the better fights I've seen in awhile, both men were really evenly matched, though I think Werdum only won the decision by a hair. I fell asleep after this fight (I hadn't slept in about 30 hours), but awoke to catch the main event between Fedor and Rogers. All I can say is I'm shocked that Brett Rogers was even able to keep up with Fedor for as long as he did, for a brief moment there I thought we might actually see King Fedor dethroned on national television, but all it took was one punch and it was over, as is usually the case with Fedor. Good fight, one that makes me really want to see Fedor and Overeem now, which hopefully we will.

I'm going to watch the rest of the show a bit later, so I'll give my thoughts on the rest of the card then. Good show from Strikeforce though from what I saw, I really like what they're doing as a company.

 

[jmt225]

I have a few gripes, but overall I thought it was a very good show and that Strikeforce did a hell of a job.

Fabricio Werdum impressed the hell out of me tonight. He got his fucking ass kicked in that 1st Round, but was able to still pull himself together and manage to win the 2nd and 3rd Rounds. Though, I'm not so sure if I would personally give him the 2nd, but I'd have to watch it again before I come to a full conclusion on that. Nevertheless, it was still a great win for Werdum. However, I still believe he's nowhere near Fedor's league and I just do not want to see that fight right now. Werdum seriously has to improve his boxing before he becomes a threat to the best of the best the division has to offer.

Gegard Mousasi.... pure dominance, as expected. Not much else to say. Hopefully Strikeforce can find a better opponent for him on their next show.

The first 3 rounds of the Jake Shields/Jason Miller were fucking SPECTACULAR and 3 of the best rounds I've ever seen in a MMA fight, from a grappling stand point. I still can't believe Miller almost beat Shields with a rear naked choke. Add something between 10 or 20 more seconds to that clock and Mayhem actually submits a Cesar Gracie blackbelt. However, Shields held on and came into the 4th and 5th Rounds with the mindset of doing nothing but winning the fight. Sure, it was boring, but at the same time... smart. He gave us an entertaining 3 Rounds at least, but when Mayhem gassed, Shields took full advantage of it and was relentless not to let Mayhem do anything in those last 2 Rounds. Props to Shields for that. He's a fine Middleweight Champion. Props to Mayhem too though for the very valiant effort. They both showed tonight why they're two of my favorite fighters.

Before I talk about the Fedor/Rogers fight, let me say I was PISSED they showed all those fucking commercials before it and we missed the damns entrances because of that. I mean, that was seriously ridiculous and had me fucking fuming. I thought for a second that we were going to miss the fight entirely! lol

Anyway, Rogers vs. Fedor was very, very exciting, and hopefully now Marquis understands why I wanted this fight to happen, instead of Fedor vs. Werdum. That said, I never thought Fedor was in trouble. Sure, he was bleeding, but that was really the only shot Rogers got in the whole fight. Rogers did a good job of getting up after Fedor threw him to the ground the first time, and he did a decent job at holding Fedor up against the cage for a little while, but that was really it. Fedor was winning the stand-up, and Rogers wanted no part of Fedor's ground game. As soon as Rogers started throwing those bombs on Fedor while he was on top, I knew Fedor was just waiting to apply that armbar, and he almost got Rogers with it. But my point is... Fedor was never in trouble in that fight. Never. And man.... Fedor has to be pound for pound the hardest puncher in MMA. Just look at the guy.... does he look like a legit Heavyweight? No, the guy could make 185 if he wanted to. But this dude is knocking motherfuckers out who are giants, basically, and he does it with ease. He's done it throughout his entire career, and he done it again tonight. It was a pleasure to witness.

Oh, another thing... Rogers is a fool. That interview he gave afterward was completely classless. The fans were ready to accept this guy and he was on the verge of becoming a well respected fan favorite, but instead he blew it with that nonsense he said. And let me say that if there was a rematch (which I hope there isn't)... he would get destroyed much worse than what he got tonight, especially if he kept to his word and came straight forward.

Anyway, all in all, good show. I loved the main event, and the other fights were good as well. It's great we MMA fans can get free shows like this. And they only keep of coming with UFC 105, the TUF Finale, and Strikeforce's show in December. Great time to be a fan of MMA.

 

[bealzer1010]

Great show by Strikeforce!!

Silva/Werdum was a very good opening fight. Looked like Silva was gonna dominate by the way the first round went, Werdum got comfortable and worked his Jiu Jitsu to win the last two rounds! Werdum has to be heavy consideration for Fedor now if Rogers doesn't get a rematch.

Mousasi/Sokoudjou didn't disappoint! Soko. definitely did better than most expected, very nice takedowns in the first by him. Those knees Mousasi landed were very effective followed by his strikes, were Soko took him down to stop him from landing more. After Mousasi got back to his feet then took him down it was over with those ground n pound shots, Nice having the camera right there, to hear those punches landing on Soko's face!!

Shields/Miller was another good fight. Mayhem's entrance made him look like a tool on national tv, but his performance made up for it. Both fighters had great defense on the ground, which was some of the best spots of the fight. It was obvious from the start Shields didn't want to stand up with Miller, I'm sure a lot of people will be bitching because it wasn't a slugfest. First two rounds I would give Sheilds, even though they were pretty close, Miller came on strong at the end of each round, and did have a few moments in them with his slam and the suplex, but Shields was working more to win the rounds. The third Miller won with that rear-naked choke at the end of the round, if there was 10 more seconds that fight would've been over. Fourth was all Shields, he dominated the round, only thing Miller had was that hard knee, but Shields just took it back down and started landed body shots from the mount. The last round was another close one but Shields still won it I think, Miller came out with some good jabs, but Shields got him against the cage and took him down and start working him again. Miller did attempt a guillotine late in the round, but Shields got out and pretty much had it from there.
I thought it was funny when Miller made the remark that he was waiting for Shields to get winded, when in actually was him being winded! Would like to see this fight happen again!!

Fedor/Rogers well it delivered!!! Didn't think both fighters would be cautious like they were, Rogers stated plenty of times he was coming out banging and didnt. Great jab landed by Rogers that cut Fedor's nose bad. Got real exciting once Fedor landed the left hook then took him to the ground, then to have Rogers reverse, go into a mount and start pounding Fedor, now with Fedor's face covered in blood go for that arm bar, then Fedor is now on top goes for an arm triangle, Rogers gets him off then Fedor went for that huge punch that missed. Start of the second round had Fedor get Rogers pinned against the cage and start to throw a flurry of punches that Rogers blocked. Rogers was able to then reverse Fedor and get him against they cage, but Fedor pushed him off. Both of them got to the center of the ring, where Fedor cracked him with a beautiful right hook that dropped Rogers and almost himself after putting his weight behind it!! Rogers definitely didn't want it anymore after that as he started to rollover and cover his face as Fedor started to throw more punches.
I don't think Rogers should get a rematch right away since he didn't lose by a close decision or have it stopped early, he should have to earn a rematch!!
Cannot wait to see Fedor fight again, he's definitely the guy thats gonna get Strikeforce to possibly key word, threat UFC ratings, and the best part Fedor's fights are free!!

 

[650ballinwhiteboy]

Rogers interview after the fight was straight up DOUCHE. He basically said that he would "throw" Fedor if they had a second fight and blamed it solely on not keeping his hands up. That classless idiot better realize that he didn't lose because of a small mistake, he lost because he got BEAT fair and square and he should've congratulated Fedor after the fight instead of talking about how great he is.

 

[gd]

Pretty awesome show tonight, much better than the one in August.

Werdum/Silva was a great fight. I thought it was over early in the first, but Werdum was able to survive. The rest of the fight was close, but I definetly think that Werdum won the last 2 rounds and it was the correct decision.

Gegard's fight was pretty solid as well. From what I heard, I thought that Soko would get knocked out quit, however he was decently impressive. Gegard was in control the whole time though and showed some really impressive striking, I'd like to see him against a top lever opponent soon.

I thought Shields/Miller was a good fight, not great, but entertaining enough. I didn't realize that Miller was the Bully Beatdown guy and I though his entrance was awesome. However, that didn't translate to the fight where he got his ass kicked excpet for the last minute of Round 3.

Fedor/Rogers was exciting as hell. I was pulling for the upset, but Rogers was just too slow and looked to be gassed by the second round. Fedor showed how dangerous he is with the shot he hit to end it, but I though the stoppage may have been premature and that Rogers was still defending himself. It wouldn't have really mattered though, Fedor likely would've finished him anyway.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I thought that for the most part, it was a very fun card, and Strikeforce really showed it has its shit together and could really start to be a viable contender against the UFC. Sure, it won't reach the same type of popularity it has, but as an alternative and a home to other fighters, it's an option for some guys who might be let go by the UFC, and it forces the UFC to start locking up some fighters and actually pay them an amount they can live off of for putting their bodies on the line. As much as I love the UFC, the one thing they have to do is pay their fighters a little more.

As far as the card goes...

Silva/Werdum was a great fight between two very good heavyweights, and I sort of got pissed when the crowd was booing them because they took it to the ground. It was still exciting to watch even when they took it down there. Kudos to the ref for not stopping when Silva was teeing off on Werdum early. He was still defending himself, and Miragliotta or Lavigne may have stopped it there.

I thought Mousasi/Sokoudjou was going to be a massacre, and "SOAK A JEW" (as that moron Renaullo pronounced it) really took it to Mousasi early. Mousasi is probably the #3 light heavyweight in the world behind Shogun and Machida, and I think he sort of underestimated the fact that although Sokoudjou is a bust, he has a couple of impressive wins under his belt. Sokoudjou also has a history of getting gassed, and he was out of mileage once the middle of the second round hit.

Shields and Mayhem never really have done much for me, and while I felt it had its moments, I felt it kind of dragged. Still a good fight overall, and I don't care for Mayhem one bit, so I was glad Shields won. Shields is one of the best overall in the middleweight division.

Rogers and Fedor... what a great fight. A definite Fight of the Year Candidate. Rogers really took it to Fedor, and I probably would have scored him the first round. It's too bad he got gassed in the end. He seemed to really expel all of his energy in the first round, and seemed out of it as the round started to end. The second round, Fedor knew he was vulnerable, and that punch to knock him out... Good lord, I don't remember the last time I heard a punch that loud. I think as a whole, Fedor was really exposed last night and showed that he was beatable. I really think Brock would be able to take it to him, and I think that when Fedor fights Overeem for the Heavyweight Title, Overeem could have his number. Don't let the record fool you and watch some of his fights. Since moving up to the heavyweight division, he's been dominant.

 

[INDYjon22]

This card was EPIC!!!!!!! I went 4 for 4 in my picks which never happens so maybe im actually learning something from this forum. The Silva/Werdum fight was awesome, way better then i expected. Werdum won of course but Silva deff. impressed me with his striking and ground defense. Soko/Mousasi was exactly what I thought it would be. Soko impressed me a lot though, he really brought his A game for this one and just got outmatched by a better overall fighter. A lot of you guys are mixed on the Shields/Miller fight saying it was good but kinda fell flat. Well I couldt disagree more my friends. This fight was the best of the night in my opinion, and because I was a wrestler in high school. It was easily one of the best wrestling matches ive seen in awhile. Both guys had awesome takedowns and takedown defense with great scrambles as well. The submission defense was amazing and when Miller caught Shields in the rear naked choke the fight was over. It really showed how much heart was in Shields for not subing. The fight was an A+ in my book. As for the "shot heard round the world" I totally agree. That was a crazy ass punch that Fedor hit Rogers with. And some of you may think that the fight was stopped to early but your wrong.Rogers got decked and went down as soon as Fedor came after him he rolled over and covered up, the fight was over and was stopped accordingly. Great card from top to bottom and I cant wait to see the next one.