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Quick Quote: Rogers’ Coach Unhappy with Overeem
By: Sherdog.com Staff
Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Mike Reilly, Brett Rogers’ coach, was disappointed with Alistair Overeem’s effort in building up their Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” main event. During a Beatdown After the Bell interview Saturday shortly after the fight, Reilly compared Overeem’s prefight promotion to Rogers:
“(Rogers) comes out here to St. Louis and he carries the show. Overeem won’t do an interview. Our greatest disappointment was that we really love Strikeforce and we really love what this organization has brought to the table and what they’ve done for the sport, and personally I don’t think Alistair Overeem has ever shown this organization any respect whatsoever. That’s one of the tragedies is that he gets to carry their belt. He won’t do interviews. He won’t do anything. We come on and we really carry the promotion side of it, and we did with the Fedor fight too. We go around and do all of the personal appearances. We do the lion’s share of the interviews, the lion’s share of all the promotional work. Part of it, you want to say, ‘Well, maybe that’s a distraction? That actually kind of ends up hurting us.’ But again, that should be part of the job. I would wish that other fighters would be more willing to do more of that and willing to step up and help promote the show as much as Brett does. And respect the promotion and the sponsors and the organization as much as we do, but that’s neither here nor there. The end result is that you still gotta win.”
More » Reilly Breaks Down Rogers’ Loss and His Future
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Post-Mortem: Overeem in Overdrive, Dull Shine and More
By: Jake Rossen
Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Two tales of the weekend: Alistair Overeem flew into the States, suffered repeated questions about his physique, assaulted an American citizen, and then flew back to Holland, settling into a role as a legitimate threat to Fedor Emelianenko’s status as the best.
In North Carolina, several fighters arrived prepared to fight but left emotionally drained with nothing to show for it.
There is always a winner and a loser. It’s not always decided in the ring.
Strikeforce prevailed Saturday, with Overeem’s pre-sold reputation as a destroyer on full display against a curdling Brett Rogers. The man who gave Emelianenko a rough first round last fall had virtually nothing for Overeem -- not even the hyped right hand that promised to at least keep Overeem honest. Now, only two obstacles remain in Strikeforce assembling their best chance at a high-profile heavyweight match: Emelianenko getting past Werdum and Strikeforce getting past Emelianenko’s notoriously difficult management.
Both are problems, but nothing compared to what might have been the most spectacular meltdown of a burgeoning promotion to date. Shine Fights spent most of Friday and Saturday in court answering charges that their contract with eccentric boxer Ricardo Mayorga violated Mayorga’s promotional agreement with Don King. Shine’s game from the beginning was to stick their heads in the sand and presume that King would somehow roll over for their stunt casting of Mayorga as an MMA fighter. (Mayorga had filed suit against King last year, but dropped it without explanation. That should’ve been clue one.) It ended the only way it was going to, with Mayorga sitting on the sidelines and Shine trying to assign blame to the North Carolina boxing authority and King.
In fact, the show’s cancelation is one hundred percent a result of their building an event around the toothpick-supported premise of Mayorga breaching a valid contract. We’re a long way from the ninjitsu experts of the 1990s, but this business will always be home to amateurs. Read more -
Audio: Overeem/Rogers Strikeforce 'Heavy Artillery' Conference Call
By: Mike Fridley
Strikeforce held a conference call for the media on Tuesday to promote its May 15 St. Louis, Mo., event.
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, challenger Brett Rogers and CEO Scott Coker participated in the call. Audio from the teleconference is available in the player below.
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New Questions for Rogers, Mousasi & More
By: Jake Rossen
D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
Is the heavyweight division outgrowing itself?
A burly, barrel-chested Emelianenko still looked comparatively small next to Brett Rogers, who has the physique of a lineman; Antonio Silva, Tim Sylvia, Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and at least a half-dozen other heavyweights flirt with the division’s 265 lb. ceiling. While heavyweights are traditionally expected to fight in an open-class environment, big men are acquiring skills comparable to the opponents they dwarf. If Brock Lesnar steps into a cage to defeat Emelianenko one day, did he do it because of a skillset -- or because he’s the size of a Kenmore side-by-side?
Is Gegard Mousasi in for a dour 2010?
Mousasi looked slow to start against Sokodjou Saturday, but recent performances -- including a heavyweight contest -- have shown him to be a viable next-generation fighter. Unfortunately for his development, Strikeforce’s 205 lb. division is their weakest: getting rounds in isn’t quite the same as getting pushed.
Is CBS in this for the long haul?
Television’s biggest asset -- consistency -- is also its biggest handicap. While programs like “Seinfeld” can take months or years for viewers to warm to them, executives rarely operate in a patient mood: if you’re not delivering, you’re not airing. Emelianenko’s performance will get buzzed about, but it’ll take both Strikeforce and their performers several shows to work up a head of steam.
Is Brett Rogers going to get more dangerous?
A knockout loss tends to change how fighters conserve their attacks: get hit and next time you might flinch. But Rogers has the benefit of knowing he lost to the best, an asset that could actually boot his confidence the next time the bell rings. His follow-up might be more interesting than Emelianenko’s. Read more -
'Fedor vs. Rogers' Post-Mortem: Russian Roulette, Network Exposure, More
By: Jake Rossen
D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
The expectations created by Fedor Emelianenko’s media profile make it impossible for him to perform in a way that pleases everyone: if he had crumbled Brett Rogers Saturday in a manner akin to Tim Sylvia -- women sobbing cageside, Medivacs hovering overhead -- fans would sigh and complain that Rogers never belonged in the ring with him.
In taking nearly seven minutes to finish Rogers off, gushing blood all the while, Emelianenko is instead viewed by a portion of the audience as a less-than-prime fighter. The paint, some would argue, is coming off the pedestal.
There is some truth in the idea that we don’t yet know how impressive it really was to beat Rogers: maybe he’s a devastating heavyweight who hasn’t had much of a chance to show off. (His lone win over a top-10 opponent, Andrei Arlovski, earned him this slot.) Maybe he’s a one-dimensional athlete who won’t go much further. Read more -
Red Ink: Emelianenko vs. Rogers
By: Jake Rossen
The Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club monolith is known for stocking virtually everything anyone could possibly want: paper towels, dress socks, and even coffins. And if you need someone to try and beat Fedor Emelianenko, by God, they’ve got one of those, too.
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Up until this past spring, Brett Rogers was working in an Illinois Sam’s Club tire department, changing radials and likely getting a slight buzz from the stacks of rubber piled around him. Beating Andrei Arlovski in June has kept him from any job but training: 10-0, he’ll attempt to spin a heavy set of hands in his favor. -
5 Questions: Strikeforce Edition
By: Jake Rossen
What happens to Rogers on the ground?
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Brett Rogers is being given (slight) chances to beat Fedor Emelianenko based on his ability to punch a hole into concrete; little has been seen of him working the canvas, where Emelianenko is incredibly slick. In his favor: Mark Hunt, a ground novice who clocked in near Rogers’ 280-pound frame for his 2006 fight with Fedor, kept Emelianenko immobile for several minutes. But if all he can hope for is some brief control, it’s less of a shot at winning and more a stay of execution.
What happens to Emelianenko on the feet?
A victory is a victory, but for several minutes against Andrei Arlovski, Emelianenko looked uneasy and ineffective. -
Primer: 'Fedor vs. Rogers'
By: Jake Rossen
D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
Because Saturday’s network television broadcast of Strikeforce pre-empts “CSI: NY,” we have, in a sense, already won. But event producers may not be satisfied with paving over the career of Skeet Ulrich: what they really want is to snag an appreciable share of the coveted 18-49 male demo, that segment of the population most likely to enjoy repeated punches to the head and advertisements for beef jerky.
To attract them, CBS and Strikeforce are hoping the monosyllabic Russian Fedor Emelianenko will outgrow his cult popularity among tape collectors to become a mass-audience draw. On their side: he’s exciting, dangerous, and far less likely than Kimbo Slice to be knocked out by a man in a dress.
Working against them: he’s a bit flabby, and has never seen the inside of a tattoo shop.
Like Slice before him, Emelianenko appears to be gaining notoriety in the farm league known as YouTube. Read more -
Ticket Puncher: Strikeforce’s Coker Expects Sellout
By: Jake Rossen
D. Herbertson/Sherdog.com
A pal of Fanhouse’s Michael David Smith risked severe eyestrain on several glorified-scalping Web sites to report that large blocks of seats for Saturday’s Strikeforce event in Chicago, Ill., are no longer available: Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told media that the show is 85% sold out. (Floor seats, at upwards of $500 each, are probably going to remain idle.)
What we can infer from the business figures of Fedor Emelianenko to date: he’s a draw in a climate where virtually no non-UFC athlete has that potential. He’s doing steady, reliable business for stateside promotions. And even if his bout with Brett Rogers draws record low ratings Saturday, he will still be seen by millions of people, elevating his status as a pay-per-view attraction.
And unlike Affliction -- which loss-led with Emelianenko and other pricey talent -- Strikeforce considers their business to be more marathon than sprint. It’s a climate where decent business isn’t a disappointment. Solid footing -- but it can all be undone by Brett Rogers taking away Emelianenko’s selling point of invincibility. Coker and company will be just as nervous as family that night. Read more -
A Busy Day for Brett Rogers on ESPN
By: Mike Fridley
Just days away from the biggest fight of his career, undefeated heavyweight Brett Rogers will appear on Wednesday’s ESPN2 “First Take” and “SportsNation” shows to promote his bout with Fedor Emelianenko on the CBS-televised (9 p.m. ET) Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Rogers” card.
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Rogers will join “First Take” hosts Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson at 10 a.m ET.
Following the stint on “First Take,” the underdog will take to the airwaves with Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd on “SportsNation” at 4 p.m. ET.
