Here’s the entire fight, and it was a good one; Rogers managed to gussy up Fedor’s nose with one of his first jabs of the night, busting the Russian’s nose wide open. They punched each other, and whenever Fedor seemed to have Rogers caught in a potential submission hold, the wily American would escape. Rogers eventually got out of the first round; he was the first Fedor opponent since 2006 to do so, according to the broadcast.
Both fighters were winded in round two, and with neither man taking initiative, Fedor fired a lunging right hand that caught Rogers in the jaw, and put him on the mat. Just like that, it was over.
The fight card was unimpressive in the ratings, but delivered a good night for MMA, and possibly another rising star in Rogers. Fedor proves to be a terrific import, and this fight is probably the best that we’ll see before the new year.
The punchy American is an 11-2 underdog going into his fight tonight against Fedor, but everyone seems to be wondering if Brett Rogers has any chance at all. To be fair, neither fighter seems to be getting his due of late, as Fedor Emelianenko has drawn the ire and disappointment of the MMA faithful since turning down UFC to fight for Strikeforce, generally considered to be the CFL of MMA. LOL…They’re even calling Fedor fat now.
If Rogers can get this fight out of the first round–and he seems to have the tools to do so–the grief will only mount for the pudgy Russian. His career choices aside, Fedor is widely considered to be the class of MMA, the fat white Rouskie whale that somebody will have to conquer to make his own name in the sport. It could happen tonight. Full rundown of the card here.
MMA behemoth Frank Mir has fought Brock Lesnar twice, beating him at UFC 81 and then losing to him in the much-ballyhooed UFC 100. So Mir would be a knowledgeable fellow to ask about the dream matchup of Lesnar fighting UFC dodger Fedor Emelianenko, and which gentleman he would favor to prevail in that bout.
Though we may never see the fight take place, Mir was asked if he thought Fedor Emelianenko could beat Brock Lesnar. “In a cage no. In a boxing ring, possibly,” said Mir.
Mir also shared his honest opinion of Fedor’s recent signing with Strikeforce instead of the UFC.
“I think it’s an excuse to dodge top level competition. As long as he never proves he it, he can always keep the number one ranking. But if he goes into the cage and loses, he loses that.” via, via.
Mir also said that he wanted a rubber match with Lesnar, in order to beat the former pro wrestling champ in order to “show him how to properly act victoriously.” I’d like to see that; I’m a big fan of rematches. In fact, there’s a rematch coming up later this afternoon featuring “Li’l Punte” facing off against “Rosie Palmer.” Good seats are still available. For your mom.
There were two big fights this weekend for fans of man-on-man violence: Shane Mosley upset Antonio Margarito with a ninth-round TKO to win the WBC welterweight title, and heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko knocked out Andrei Arlovski in the first round of the most-hyped MMA fight outside of UFC since Kimbo Slice fell to Seth Petruzelli.
Since I’m not an old Hispanic man, I watched Affliction’s MMA card, but you can read solid breakdowns on Mosley-Margarito from Large at The Sporting Blog and Kogod at Deadspin.
While 20,000-plus were packed into L.A.’s Staples Center to watch the pugilists, the Honda Center in Orange County was also filled with fight fans to watch Emelianenko build his mystique — the doughy 230-pound Russian hasn’t lost a fight since 2000. But the headliners disappointed. Arlovski, clearly in superior shape, controlled the tempo of the first round, then was done in by his famously weak chin when he jumped into a straight right. He immediately fell to the canvas, unconscious.
The rest of the card was similarly disappointing — a lot of fighters with some version of “former UFC” appended to their names, and it was obvious why. Although anyone who saw Matt Lindland get knocked out got their money’s worth. Not too often I get to see the balled-up velociraptor hands and leg spasms at the end of a fight. Usually I pay the girl to do that to me.
