tpcjiujitsu

Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers
Date: Nov 07, 2009

Location: Hoffman Estates, Ill
Venue: Sears Centre
Broadcast: CBS

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers
Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title*
Gegard Mousasi vs. TBA*
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. TBA*

* - Not officially announced

with Fedor, Mayhem, Shields and Mousasi fighing on this one it looks pretty good and its going to be free from what I read on CBS!

I LOVE FREE FIGHTS!

Even at its weakest, network television is still the circulatory system for most entertainment: It’s familiar, it’s accessible and it doesn’t need to buffer. Fedor Emelianenko’s appointment with the Sears Centre in Chicago this Saturday will be seen by, at minimum, several million viewers.

Some people would say that this is not enough, and that CBS is not doing itself many favors to help answer the question that will be debated this week and in the weeks ahead: Can they make a star out of Fedor Emelianenko?

Heading into what promises to be a long and exhausting media build into Strikeforce’s first over-air telecast, some observers have settled on the idea that CBS is simply “not doing enough” to promote their acquisition of the most effective Russian prizefighter since Ivan Drago.

If you look closely enough at that (paraphrased) statement, you might realize the cause is idling in the symptom.

Emelianenko cannot appear on a CBS talk show (his English is somewhere north of Chuck Liddell’s); Emelianenko cannot appear in advertisements displaying a ripped musculature (he doesn’t have one); Emelianenko cannot have a speaking part on “CSI: Miami” (he might be convincing as a corpse). As marketable athletes go, Emelianenko is not very marketable.

What he does have is a nearly unblemished 30-1 record and an unofficial title -- given to him by his peers, who should know -- as the world’s best fighter. CBS can and does put that in italics, but because virtually all of his fight footage is owned by Zuffa, you’ll have to settle for the “tell” rather than the “show.” (Why his fight footage from Rings is rarely seized is beyond me: It’s not in HD, but it’s not 8mm, either.)

Is all that winning enough? Emelianenko’s closest approximation is Anderson Silva, who also speaks little English, doesn’t have a physique cast in marble and has a reputation for being an all-time great. Because of the UFC’s market posturing, Silva rebounded from some lackluster performances to draw good business for a bout against Forrest Griffin over the summer. He’s well known but far from a household name.


Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com


Could Fedor Emelianenko become
a household name in the U.S.?Emelianenko does not have the UFC machine propelling him, which might be compensated for by CBS, except that their EliteXC broadcast that failed to feature Kimbo Slice dropped off the ratings cliff. CBS viewers, apparently, did not enjoy fighting so much as they enjoyed Kimbo fighting. This is an important, depressing distinction.

But Affliction -- a company that previously only had experience selling T-shirts that looked like Megadeth threw up on their printing presses -- managed some credible pay-per-view business with Emelianenko at the top. And ironically, Emelianenko’s biggest push may have come from the UFC itself: Summer’s drawn-out coverage of his negotiations with the UFC ran rampant, and he came off as a mythical figure the company desperately wanted. There’s intrigue in that.

His Nov. 7 date was mentioned during an NFL halftime show Sunday; Emelianenko also appeared in commercials during college and pro football telecasts, a direct appeal to likely viewers. What else, exactly, could CBS do to trumpet this guy? Their “60 Minutes” has invited controversy a handful of times over the years by endorsing stories that had some connection to CBS business: a book by Dick Clarke, former White house staffer, got the segment treatment in 2004 without revealing parent company Viacom would profit from its sales; “Guiding Light” got a send-off on the show shortly before it ended 72 years on the air. In terms of corporate synergy, a well-timed profile of the reputed toughest man on the planet would not seem all that dysfunctional.

Print advertising? It’s expensive, and there’s little evidence it can directly influence sporting events. Hype programming? Networks will rarely devote airtime to something that blaringly self-serving, but pre-empting Craig Ferguson one night for Showtime’s “360” show might have displayed a commitment to Strikeforce that the network has so far been reluctant to share. (That episode has been distributed to CBS’ local affiliates, who will use their discretion on when and where to air it. My best guess: 4 a.m., just after Billy Mays makes a posthumous pitch for OxyClean.)

The foreign athlete has it rough: Audiences like to see themselves in their sporting attractions. Someone who dominates Americans without speaking the language is not going to earn himself a Wheaties box. Whether he can earn enough viewers to best “America’s Most Wanted” is a question for the overnight ratings.

Emelianenko is a star to a lot of fans; but those fans, in the scale of network television, wouldn’t pay for a single 30-second Snuggles spot. It may take time for the general public to warm up to a cold guy. At 33, with nearly 10 years of wear, does he have the time to spare?

Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
Jake Shields (No. 4 WW) vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller

Fedor Emelianenko (No. 1 HW, No. 3 PFP) vs. Brett Rogers (No. 6 HW)
Gegard Mousasi (No. 7 LHW) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum
Jeff Curran vs. Dustin Neace
Roxanne Modafferi vs. Marloes Coenen
Mark Miller vs. Deray Davis
Shamar Bailey vs. John Kolosci
Louis Taylor vs. Nate Moore
Christian Uflacker vs. Jonatas Novaes

Event website:

http://sports.sho.com/mma/events/fedor- ... -2009.html

Strikeforce website:

http://www.strikeforce.com/events/

PREFIGHT TRAINING DOCU:

SHOWTIME Sports turns its powerful spotlight on MMA with a new installment - Fight Camp 360º : Fedor vs. Rogers. The 30-minute show premieres Tuesday, November 3 at 9:30 pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME. See the full schedule below.


http://sports.sho.com/mma/fight-camp-36 ... aign=Fedor

Brett Rogers, who has been left out of much Strikeforce advertising, is apparently ready, willing and definitely able to take out #1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko this Saturday in Chicago, Illinois.

The 6'5" knockout machine is looking to hand Fedor his first legitimate defeat in hopes of knocking out the "World’s Greatest Fighter" and ending the "Last Emperor's" reign of domination.

Speaking to USA Today, Rogers had some harsh words for the former Pride Champion:

“His weakness? He can get sloppy. He can get sloppy when he’s standing, because he throws too many combinations and he puts his hands down, that’s one thing that I see. He likes to flurry and he leaves himself open. And he ducks his head a lot too.”

“I definitely feel I’m better with the hands than him. I have the reach too; my reach is definitely going to play a part. A lot of people are saying, ‘Oh, he fights seven-footers.’ Hey, I’m not a seven-footer. I’m not that guy. I'm that guy that wants to get in there and hurt you. If he gets a chance to do it to me, he’s going to do it, so I’m going to beat him to the punch.”

“I’m hungry. I have the desire. I’m strong. I’m bigger than him. He likes to take on big dudes, and I feel he should be like 205, if anything. He definitely has the skills to win. But today, the way I feel, I'm a part of the new generation, at least compared to him. He's been in the game for awhile.”

“I didn't see any of his fights (before this year). Really, the only fight that I watched was the fight that was with him and Arlovski. But the rest of them was on Youtube, so I’ve seen all of those fights, and I’ve seen the type of fighters he fought, and like I said, he ain’t fought nobody like me. I just didn't see it. So if he comes out there and thinks it's going to be easy to take me down, and ground-and-pound or submit me, he's got another thing coming.”

Rogers does have what it takes to beat Fedor! A punchers chance. Many are thinking that it isn't a good chance but insiders are actually starting to place bets on Rogers.

Fedor losing would be certain death for the millions of dollars being invested in him by Strikeforce. The world of MMA would surely hear the piercing laughs of Dana White and the UFC if this does happen.

Rogers is hungry and has brutalized almost all of his opponents in violent fashion and doesn't plan on losing.....he has ZERO lose and everything to gain.

If Rogers beats Fedor, not only with the Russian look bad and lose even more respect from hardcore MMA fans who turned his back on him for not signing with the UFC.

360 Fighter Showtime documentary on the fight; 26mins:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/pla ... 7643102001

I cant wait for this fight... Fedor has been one of my favorites to watch since he was in Pride any time him or Wanderlei fight I get nervous like im fighting lol... Watch Brett Rogers fights he surely has some bombs for hands.