There are some people who are going to need a lot of convincing that Brett Rogers is a suitable contender for Fedor Emelianenko’s best-fighter-in-the-history-of-ever crown. And if they can’t muster it, then maybe they’ll at least appreciate the effort: Newsday spoke with Rogers recently, and his stature as a blue-collar entry came through loud and clear.

"Don't [piss] off a family guy," Rogers said. "This right now, this is what puts food on the table. I have to get in there and try to knock your head off. I don't care how it's going to go down, but that's all I'm thinking about."

What happens to Rogers if he performs the unlikely feat of dethroning Emelianenko? Probably an immediate rematch. Less cynicism? OK: more than likely, a bout with Fabricio Werdum, and -- later -- Roger Gracie, a name Strikeforce signed months ago but has been unable to exploit until recently.

A better question: what happens to Strikeforce?

ESPN’s Roman Madrowski has confirmed that Strikeforce’s Fedor Emelianenko Show will be coming to Chicago on November 7. Emelianenko’s fight with Brett Rogers will anchor the CBS network telecast.

UFC 90 posted a $2.85 million gate and over 15,000 fans when they visited the Allstate Arena last October, and at least 14,000 of them wanted to fillet Anderson Silva for dancing around Patrick Cote. Strikeforce is reportedly eyeing the 10-12,000 seat Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates for the event, which was recently subject to foreclosure by city officials. Tough economy.

Strikeforce may not care about the turnstile passes: ratings are what matter. And when it comes to eyeballs, Emelianenko has never proven himself to be a major draw. On the plus side, he’s never had something with the reach of CBS putting him up for consumption. Hell, they made a star out of Jon Cryer, and if you ever saw “Superman IV,” you weren’t placing any bets on that.

Here’s something I find increasingly curious about Strikeforce: in an industry that frequently appears wiretapped, they manage to keep their news in a lead box. No one anticipated their signing of Fedor Emelianenko in August, and no one pegged Emelianenko’s bout with Brett Rogers as a CBS attraction.

But that’s exactly what it is, per a Strikeforce press release Thursday afternoon that announced a November 7 primetime slot for the fight. The move puts them a week ahead of UFC 105, a Spike broadcast, and one week ahead of both boxing’s Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto and UFC 106.

Maybe Strikeforce is gambling that the UFC won’t have the resources to assemble a show to create three consecutive weeks of programming. Or if they did, maybe they simply don’t care: in terms of available viewership and household penetration (oh, grow up), CBS isn’t in any danger of being smothered.

This leaves the UFC to counter in what they’ve clearly defined as an adversarial relationship with the network: minimal effort means some repackaged shows on Spike. The high end? A fight streamed live from the Coliseum in Rome between Wanderlei Silva and a Kodiak bear. Thank God for DVRs.

During a public workout Wednesday in New York City -- where he deftly avoided gazing too long at the neighboring hot dog stands -- Strikeforce marquee attraction Fedor Emelianenko had his debut firmed up by promoters: he will face unbeaten Brett Rogers at a location and date to be decided sometime this fall.

It’s a solid, if unspectacular return to the states for the Russian, who hasn’t competed since January of 2009. Rogers has looked dangerous in most of his recent appearances; out of everyone on the Strikeforce roster, he’s probably the most deserving at this point. (While you’d figure champion Alistair Overeem should be first in line, he hasn’t competed in the promotion for nearly two years.)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers have emerged as the frontrunners to face Fedor Emelianenko at a Strikeforce event sometime in November.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said both fighters were under consideration to meet the world’s No. 1 heavyweight, during the post-fight press conference for the promotion’s “Carano vs. Cyborg” event, which drew 13,524 spectators and an estimated gate of $750,000.

The bout, which would mark the first of three fights the Russian has signed on for and his debut foray into a cage, still awaits a date and venue, said Coker. However, Coker did say the event would not be held in the promotion’s homebase of San Jose.