Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers predictions

Strikeforce will host the highly anticipated mixed martial arts (MMA) event,  Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, at the Chicago Sears Center on Nov. 7, 2009 in association with M-1 Global.

The fights will air live on CBS at 10 p.m. ET with four bouts on main card and headlined by Fedor Emelianenko, who is considered to be the best heavyweight fighter in MMA worldwide. He will take on the undefeated KO-artist Brett Rogers. In the co-main event Jake Shields faces off with Jason Miller to determine the new middleweight champion since Cung Le relinquished his belt. This exciting fight card also features the top ranked light heavyweight fighter, Gegard Mousasi, and the recent Abu Dahbi Combat Club winner, Fabricio Werdum.

Main Event:

Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko vs. Brett “The Grim” Rogers

Sambo master and  judo black belt Fedor is dangerous as striker as well as on the ground. His impressive 30-1-1 MMA record speaks for itself. Obviously, he is the crowd favorite in this bout which will also be his first time fighting in a cage. What makes this fight exciting is the possibility for a huge upset.

Brett Rogers is a monster holding a perfect 10-0 MMA record including nine KO-victories plus he finished all his fights before the end of the second round. But by destroying his opponents quickly he has never been really tested yet. He spent less than 25 minutes total in the cage in his last ten bouts combined so the quality of his cardio is still a mystery. Rogers has huge punching power and could probably knock out Fedor (or anyone else for that matter) with his heavy hands.  One question remains though: just how good is his ground game?

If Rogers can’t turn Fedor’s lights off quickly with one of his powerful punches, Fedor will take him down and finish the match on the ground via submission or ground and pound. There is no doubt that the Russian fighter won’t take any  risks in a stand-up fight with a powerful striker like Rogers.

Predicted winner: Fedor Emelianenko

Remaining Main Card:

Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Jake Shields for the Strikeforce Middleweight title

This fight is a hard one to call, both can neutralize each other’s game. Shields will enter the cage with an impressive twelve-win streak but that shouldn’t scare much the exuberant Miller. Miller is an entertaining fighter to watch, with solid striking and high skilled jiu jitsu. Even though Shields can vie with him on the standup he has the advantage in that field. His ground game is also good enough to nullify Shields submission attempts. Nevertheless Shields adds good wrestling to his jiu jitsu and that may give him the advantage on the ground. Even though Miller’s advantage is on his feet, this fight is most likely to go to the ground as he probably can’t keep Shields taking him down for long.

Predicted winner: Jake Shields

Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou

Sokoudjou is an explosive striker with powerful punches but he is also a judo black belt. He is coming of a recent win over Bob Sapp at Dream 11 where he won his ticket for the Super Hulk Tournament finale. Though the time he knocked “Shogun” Rua out seems so far now since he hasn’t been able to re-edit such a performance. Mousasi is consensus best light heavyweight fighter outside the UFC who dominated easily his opponents since his last loss in August 2006. He’s currently running a thirteen-win streak. Mousasi has great kickboxing and he, as Sokoudjou, is also a judo black belt but he uses this background in a better way.

Sokoudjou has the KO power to win but Mousasi is a better fighter in every aspect of the game.

Predicted winner: Gegard Mousasi

Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva

These two fighters are quite the opposite of each other. Silva is a massive and tall striker while Werdum is smaller but a top notch grappler. Silva is on a six-win streak but Werdum is probably going to be the best fighter he had to fight so far. His size and reach will give him the advantage in the standup where he balances an obvious lack of technique by his power.

Werdum is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu who recently won the prestigious ADCC grappling tournament. He also has already fought and defeated big names in the Pride FC and the UFC.

Silva has with no doubt the power to knock Werdum out but how long will he avoid the take down attempts? If Werdum can manage the striking game of Silva then once on the ground he will deal with the size difference and submit Silva.

Predicted winner: Fabricio Werdum