FEDOR’S AMERICAN DEBUT NOT AN EASY ONE
Chicago, IL– Fedor Emelianenko, St. Petersburg, Russia (31-1, 8 KOs, 16 SUBs) TKO 2 Brett Rogers, St. Paul, MN (10-1, 9 KOs, 1 SUB)-The U.S. public got their first taste of Fedor Saturday night as he was able to overcome the size, strength and age disparities to hand Brett Rogers his first loss by knocking him out in the second round. Emelianenko had to survive a rough start and was battered up pretty good in the first round by the heavy hands of Rogers.
Both men had their moments in the first and for those who don’t know Fedor, probably felt like he might lose his major American debut. However, we have seen Fedor in vulnerable positions before, and part of his genius is his ability to adapt and survive-and that he did. In round two, Fedor unloaded a perfectly timed right hand that sent his massive foe crashing to the canvas.
A couple of follow up punches later and referee John McCarthy stepped in to save Rogers from further punishment. Honestly, as good as Rogers is, I was less concerned about him and more concerned about the cage. Fedor had never fought in a cage before, having always fought in organizations that used a standard ring. I was worried he may have trouble adapting to the new environment, and he did appear to have issues when pressed up against the cage. However, he used his savvy to overcome this hurdle and leave the cage for the first time as the victor.
OTHER STRIKEFORCE RESULTS
Jake Shields, San Francisco, CA (24-4-1, 3 KOs, 10 SUBs) UD 5 Jason Miller, Las Vegas, NV (22-7, 4 KOs, 13 SUBs)-Shields had to work really hard for this one! An Excellent display of skill by both men. Gegard Mousasi, The Netherlands by way of Armenia (27-2-1, 16 KOs, 9 SUBs) TKO 2 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, San Diego, CA by way of Cameroon (7-5, 6 KOs) Sokoudjou did better than expected and used solid Judo throws and sweeps to keep the fight competitive, but Mousasi stayed poised and overcame his foe impressively. Fabricio Werdum, Curitiba, Brazil (13-4-1, 4 KOs, 7 SUBs) UD 3 Antonio Silva, Brasilia, Brazil (13-2, 9 KOs, 3 SUBs)-Werdum survived the early onslaught and came back to win rounds two and three to take the decision-good fight by both men.
Matthew Grizzle