Fedor Emelianenko shadow boxing at a gym in Chicago.
This Saturday night represents a tremendous opportunity for both Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) and Brett Rogers (10-0), who will be matched-up in the main event of a stacked MMA card to be televised on CBS Television Network at 9:00 pm ET/PT.
The outlook for this fight is pretty simple as far as strategy. For Fedor, the sport’s consensus top-ranked heavyweight, he will look to showcase his superior all around skills and stay on top of most pundits mythical pound-for-pound ratings. In terms of the upstart Rogers, he will attempt to impose his superior size and punching power to overcome many shortcomings.
While traditionally marketed as some kind of machine-like enigma, the event’s promoters and television broadcasters have sought to provide a more humanistic view of Fedor Emelianenko. Portrayed as a very humble, approachable and simple family man during the event’s promotion, much of the cloud surrounding the Russian’s persona has been lifted. In Showtime’s Fight Camp 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers broadcast, Fedor is also symbolic of a Russian old school fighter by training in a public gym full of children, spending recovery time in an antiquated bath house, and drinking local concoctions meant to bring revitalization. No use of technology in this camp, simply lots of hard work and sweat.
Brett Rogers is the feel good story of this event. His fight with Fedor has meant quitting his 9 – 5 job in a tire shop, pursuing MMA full-time and purchasing his first home. Living in Minnesota but born and raised in Chicago’s notorious Cabrini Green housing projects, Rogers and his family have come a long way, and he certainly has no intent on slowing down.
While the supporters of Brett Rogers have done everything they can to convince the public that he brings more to the table than simply hard punching, it is very difficult to imagine him outgunning Fedor in any other aspect of the fight game. Even in that narrow category, one can argue that while Fedor may lack the power of Brett Rogers, he does tend to throw more precise punches.
Therefore, if you compare the striking, kicking, grappling, defensive and footwork abilities of each man, Fedor comes out on top in every category, but as you have likely heard over and over again, they aren’t fighting this on paper, and in a real fight anything is possible. Brett Rogers is a bigger and stronger man who is determined to win, and he has never lost a professional MMA match. There is something to be said for that in terms of Rogers’ potential to impose his will in this fight.
That said, although it can be safely said that Brett Rogers will have more than a puncher’s chance in front of his hometown fans in Chicago, supremely better experience and overall skill level will usually win out at the end of the day. Therefore, expect Fedor Emelianenko to walk out of that cage Saturday night with his title in tact as the top dog among MMA’s heavyweights.
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