Alistair Overeem v. Brett Rogers Rumored For May Strikeforce Card

MMA Junkie spoke to Alistair Overeem and confirmed that a non-title bout is in the works between the Strikeforce heavyweight champion and Brett Rogers:

Alistair Overeem (32-11 MMA, 2-0 SF) wants American fans to get ready. There are no more obstacles in the way of his American MMA career; Strikeforce is the priority for 2010.
In an exclusive interview with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion said he is likely to meet Brett Rogers (10-1 MMA, 2-1 SF) in a non-title fight on an as-yet-unannounced card set for May 15 in St. Louis, Mo.

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Overeem announced the Rogers fight earlier today on his Twitter account but clarified that the matchup is not confirmed. He also added that a rumored appearance at DREAM.13 against Neil Grove or Josh Barnett is also unconfirmed.
“I’ll know this week,” he said.

Overeem’s return to the U.S. has been quite anticipated and represents an opportunity for him to squash some of the rumors on the exact reasons that he is avoiding fighting in America.

For Rogers it represents an opportunity to prove that he belongs at the top of the division. Brett’s last fight was his first loss to Fedor Emelianenko in which he provided a stiffer test to the best fighter in the world than most expected.

The Strikeforce heavyweight bout that most have been calling for has been a showdown between Overeem and Emelianenko. However, today word came out of the M-1 Global camp that Fedor has no interest in fighting Overeem and is content to wait on Josh Barnett’s steroid suspension to end. From Lowkick.com:

I personally think that Alistair Overeem did not reach the desired level to challenge Fedor. He beat a lot of no-name opponents in Mixed Martial Arts. Overeem defeated Paul Buentello and then disappeared from the United States for more than two year, which is simply ridiculous. He has nothing to offer for Fedor Emelianenko, except being a steroid bully. Also, pay attention that Werdum beat Overeem when they were fighting in Pride, four years ago...

We are more interested in fighting Josh Barnett, who is currently disqualified until September. When he returns from his suspension and if he tests clean, we might consider fighting him.

So yes, they’re not interested in fighting a “steroid bully” in Alistair Overeem (who has never tested positive) and will instead be interested in fighting Josh Barnett (currently suspended after his third career positive steroid test).