A brief look around SB Nation at all things Strikeforce: Fedor v. Rogers.
Strikeforce: Fedor v. Rogers Week - Thursday Round Up
The pre-event press conference took place today and MMA Mania has the photos.
The previews were flowing from the SBN sites today as well.
Shields is the favorite going into this fight but I like Miller’s chances to pull off the upset. Shields has incredible jiu jitsu, but Miller has been in there with the likes of Jacare(who could arguably be better than Shields in pure BJJ). So if/when this fight goes to the ground, he will not be a fish out of water so to speak. As I mentioned before, Miller will enjoy the advantage while this fight stays on the feet. These fighters have trained together at different points, so both should be fairly familiar with one another’s game.
Over at Bloody Elbow Leland Rolling had a preview of Antonio Silva v. Fabricio Werdum:
This match-up could easily solidify a showdown with the winner of Brett Rogers vs. Fedor Emelianenko, and most fans would point at Fedor Emelianenko as the heavy favorite to defeat Rogers. Interestingly enough, Werdum, who fought in the heavyweight division in PRIDE, has never faced Fedor Emelianenko, and Silva’s rise as a top heavyweight in the sport has projected him to be a potential opponent for Fedor as well.
As well as Gegard Mousasi v. Sokoudjou:
Most complaints have stemmed from Sokoudjou’s reluctance to unleash his hands on opponents, and his grappling game is lacking as he was submitted by both Lyoto Machida and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. While the Cameroon-born judoka could provide a stiff test for Mousasi in a clinch game in which his superior Judo skills could come into play, Mousasi’s hands and abilities on the floor are much more polished than that of Sokoudjou.
While Watch Kalib Run got all ambitious on everyone and took a look at the main event:
Upsets happen, just ask Georges St-Pierre.
Rogers is no Matt Serra, in that he shows the singular skill necessary to shock the world in the lethal hands he’s used to end every one of the ten fights he’s had to date. Let me say that again: every fight Rogers has won has come as a result of strikes, whether it be KO, TKO or Submission; dude is going to swing on you and swing on you hard.
But therein lies the problem; while Rogers has stated he’s improving on the ground, his lone weapon is his stand-up and those big hands he’s been throwing for ten straight fights.
On the non-preview front BloodyElbow’s Michael Rome wondered how important the success of this show is for Gina Carano:
Since her loss in August, Gina Carano has been virtually silent. She is expected to return to Strikeforce in the summer, after she finishes filming Steven Soderbergh’s new movie. Though many have dismissed her following her disappointing performance, she is still a ratings powerhouse and a critical component of Strikeforce. It’s almost become expected that every time she fights she will set some kind of ratings record.
MMA Mania has up the latest ‘MMA Live’ which features previews of the fights on the card.
Finally, Kid Nate expanded on how ’Mayhem’ Miller is providing the charisma for the show:
Mayhem is filling the vacuum left by the ever-stoic Fedor Emelianenko who kept the antics to an absolute minimum. While Jake Shields is the favorite due to his considerable advantages as a wrestler and jiu jitsu practitioner, Miller has a size advantage as a natural middleweight and should have the edge on the feet.
Shields is a top notch fighter, but Miller is the far more charismatic performer. I’m curious to see if he can pull out a win here if he’ll emerge as a breakout star.
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