Strikeforce postfight: Rogers just another confused Fedor victim
Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers don't look or sound anything like each other. But if you listened to Arlovski back in January after his loss to Fedor Emelianenko and then Rogers last night in Chicago, the mood was eerily similar. Both guys had that, "what just happened" tone.
Just like Arlovski at Affliction 2, Rogers was making the Fedor look human. Not many opponents have done that. The Russian hasn't lost since 2000 but Rogers was doing quite a bit of damage on the feet and even got Fedor on his back. But then just like Arlovski, who tried a crazy flying knee, Rogers telegraphed a left hook. Fedor timed it perfectly and blasted him on the chin. Next thing "The Grim" knew, referee "Big" John McCarthy was rubbing his back saying, "it's okay, you're safe."
"I guess you can say I didn't see it coming," said Rogers. "I definitely knew that's his punch. I like to throw but every now and then I
put my hands down. He got too close. He capitlized on the hole. I'm gonna work on that."
Rogers said his problems started when he went away from his game, being the aggressor and attacking:
"I'm going to come out a whole lot more aggressive [next time]. He was playing the game right. I should've been throwing my hands."
Rogers was actually thrown off by Fedor's demeanor. There are times it looks like the Russian is getting beaten badly but his expression never changes.
"The fight went as planned. I could tell he stuck with his gameplan. What threw me off was how loose he was. It just kind of threw me. I think a lot of people sleep on [his speed], his first step."
Rogers thought the stoppage was a bit early and that he wasn't completely out but he wasn't going to complain. Fedor now has 31 wins and most of those came against guys who fought not to lose. Rogers was pretty aggressive and took the fight to Fedor. Now he has to hope a lot of things fall his way if ever wants to get a shot avenging the first defeat of his career against the 33-year-old heavyweight legend.
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