Emelianenko vs Rogers To Air On CBS

by Robert Sargent

On November 7th, mixed martial arts will return to primetime network television when Strikeforce puts on their biggest event to date on CBS. Headlining the historic night will be a heavyweight bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers.

No venue has been officially confirmed as of yet, but the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois has emerged as one of the frontrunners to house the event.

The fight will be Emelianenko's highest-profile bout in North America to date and will mark the first time that he has competed on network U.S. television. Already a huge star in Japan and his native Russia, this could serve as a platform to turn Emelianenko into a household name among North Americans who are just beginning to follow the sport of MMA.

Emelianenko (30-1-0, 1 NC) is coming off of back-to-back victories over former UFC Heavyweight Champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. He is universally regarded as the #1-ranked heavyweight fighter in the world and many feel that he is the best fighter to ever compete in mixed martial arts.

Rogers (10-0-0) is far less experienced, but has stopped all ten of his opponents to date with strikes and is coming off of a 22-second destruction of the aforementioned Arlovski. He is a gigantic heavyweight and possesses serious knockout power in both hands. A knockout victory over Emelianenko would be monumental, to say the least, and even more so if it were to take place in front of millions of viewers on CBS.

An Emelianenko loss could potentially be devastating for the promotion, as they have a significant amount of time and money invested in the Russian, but Strikeforce has thus far adopted a much smarter business plan than the former EliteXC promotion, which also showcased events on CBS.

Additional fights for the landmark Strikeforce event are expected to be announced in the coming days and weeks.


Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that the CBS event will not impact the scheduled Strikeforce Challengers 4 show the night before, which takes place at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California. The promotion will fly cross-country following the Challengers event and be ready the next night.