Pyle of List

This weekend, Strikeforce looks to make their mark on the MMA scene by having a live fight, free on network tv. And in case you didn’t know….it’s got Fedor Emelianenko in it.

Let’s face it, neither of these guys is going to win a Mr. Universe contest. But they can both kick the crap outta some poor sap on the other side of the ring. Both of these guys are coming off destructions of Andrei Arlovski. Fedor knocked him out after a few minutes in the first round. Knocked him right out of the air. Andrei was out before he hit the ground. Brett Rogers wasn’t so content to sit back for a while and took all of thirty seconds to lay Arlovski out. Now Andrei is not the same man he was when he was a two time heavyweight champion, but it’s still interesting that both of these dudes  destroyed him.

So let’s take a look at this match up. Fedor is 30-1 with 1 no contest. Brett Rogers is 10-0. Fedor is a kinda monk of MMA. A quiet, non english speaking slightly pudgy guy who very calmly goes about the destruction of other men. Even when you look at his opponent and think that there is no way this time. Brett Rogers on the other hand is a huge knockout machine. Of his 10 wins, 9 are KO’s. Not exactly the same style-wise.

Now let’s talk about Fedor a bit. 30-1. Yeah impressive. He’s beat some good fighters too so you can’t say he’s been protected by not being in the UFC.  Aside from this being his first fight in an actual cage, the bigger questions about this guy don’t seem to be fighting related. We know he’s good. All everyone seems to want to know is if he can be marketable in the US. He doesn’t speak English. He doesn’t fight with the big promotion. His calm monk-like demeanor is just not very news worthy. The nice thing about this country though is that if you win, you’re interesting. So as long as Fedor keeps quietly winning, we’ll keep watching.

Brett is a little more interesting. Until recently he was working as tire technician somewhere in Minnesota.  He’sgot that Kurt Warner type  everyman thing going on that it’s not hard to root for….if of course every man were 6′ 5″ and 265lbs and could level a man with one punch. Brett obviously has good stand up skills but what we’ve been hearing is that his ground game (though untested) is actually better than you would think. Fedor may be the man in the heavyweight world of MMA, but Brett is a guy that can end a fight in one punch. So he’s got a puncher’s chance and then some.

Now as good as I think Brett Rogers can be and will be now that he is a full time professional, I think Fedor wins this one. You may say that Brett has the size and the power but all I have to say to you is look what Fedor did to Tim Sylvia. (yeah I know Tim Sylvia sucks now)But seriously, Fedor kinda lulls you into underestimating him with that calm attitude. Which is weird considering you are underestimating the best guy in the world. But when he decides that it’s time for him to win, that’s what he does. Submission, knock out, TKO, Grinding out a decision. Whatever. Until Fedor actually shows that he is capable of losing other than on a freak cut, we have to assume that he is going to continue to kick ass and take names. And don’t you all worry, we’ll see him fight the UFC guys sooner or later. It just has to happen.

Seriously…..