HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Heavy.com is cageside for tonight’s “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers” event at the Sears Centre Arena. The event, which airs on CBS, is headlined by a main event featuring Fedor Emelianenko taking on the undefeated Brett Rogers.
We’ll give you the results of the preliminary bouts, and once the live CBS broadcast starts we’ll provide news and notes from the arena floor.
The doors opened just minutes prior to the start of the first preliminary bout of the night, and there aren’t too many people in the building just yet.
CHRISTIAN UFLACKER VS. JONATHAN NOVAES: A competitive fight that took place mostly on the ground was ruined when Novaes used three illegal heel kicks on Uflacker while both fighters were on the ground. Uflacker was in severe pain as the doctor rushed into the ring to check on him, but recuperated enough to allow the fight to continue. Novaes was deducted two points for the illegal kick. That’s enough to give Uflacker a wide decision, with two judges scoring the bout 30-25.
LOUIS TAYLOR VS. NATE MOORE: We get our second point deduction of the night in this bout, as Taylor is docked a point for holding the fence. Moore worked a concentrated ground game and scored the victory in the second round by raining down punches on the ground. The announcer says that Taylor tapped out because of the strikes, but calls it a TKO victory. It doesn’t make sense, but Moore walks away the winner regardless.
JOHN KOLOSCI VS. SHAMAR BAILEY: Bailey wins a forgettable bout using his wrestling and strength to control Kolosci on the way to a unanimous decision.
JEFF CURRAN VS. DUSTIN NEACE: A strange finish to this one, as Neace appeared to injure his ribs and tapped out early in the fight. Strikeforce isn’t showing replays for the prelim fights, so it’s tough to see what actually happened.
Clay Guida’s Hair is in the arena. Also spotted: WWE’s Vladimir Kozlov, Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith.
MARLOES COENEN VS. ROXANNE MODAFFERI: Coenen earned a shot at Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and looked like a killer in doing so. Coenen rocked Modafferi and pulled her into the guard before finishing off the match with a great armbar. I’m not sure there’s a woman in the world who can beat Cyborg, but Coenen looks to be an interesting challenger.
The Miller/Davis bout has been moved to the end of the show, and the live CBS broadcast will begin shortly.
FABRICIO WERDUM VS. ANTONIO “BIGFOOT” SILVA: Werdum weathered an early onslaught from Silva to score a close 29-28 decision. Silva looked impressive in the first round, dropping Werdum with a hard right and catching him flush with several more punches. Silva began to tire as the fight wore on, however, and Werdum used it to his advantage in scoring more punches and constantly working for submissions.
GEGARD MOUSASI VS. SOKOUDJOU: It was a lot tougher than most figured it would be, but Gegard Mousasi finally dispatched a game Sokoudjou in the second round. The first round mostly belonged to The African Assassin as he used his world-class judo technique to execute several takedowns and control Mousasi. The second round started much the same, but Sokoudjou, a fighter known for exploding early before gassing, finally tired out. It was elementary from that point forward as Mousasi scored a TKO from side control.
JASON “MAYHEM” MILLER VS. JAKE SHIELDS: Shields used his ground wizardry to nullify a game Mayhem. The BJJ black belt used relentless takedowns to stay away from Miller’s striking on the feet and kept control on the ground for much of the fight. Miller, a decided fan favorite, was able to stay away from submission attempts by Shields and even secured a rear naked choke that almost ended the fight at the end of round three. But it wasn’t enough to land him a decision victory, as Jake Shields takes home a 49-46 victory and the Strikeforce middleweight championship.
FEDOR EMELIANENKO VS. BRETT ROGERS
Round One: An intense first round. Fedor had Rogers in trouble several times, but Rogers gave back just as much punishment he took in a brutal ground and pound exchange.
Round Two: Emelianenko knocks Rogers out cold with a right hand. He follows up with a few strikes on the ground, but John McCarthy steps in before more damage can be done. Rogers did better here than many, myself included, expected him to, but he’s just not in the same league as Emelianenko.