Strikeforce: Fedor VS Rogers predictions

On November 7, 2009 from The Sears Centre Arena in Chicago (or close to it), Strikeforce and M-1 Global are bringing us a great night of fights live (and free) on CBS. Headlining the show, and who the event is named for, is Fedor VS Rogers, a battle of two strikers who are not afraid to trade leather. So with this event being days away, that means it is time for me to make predictions. I am not going to make picks for all the fights on this card, just the ones I expect to see on the main card and the women’s fight, which I hope they air. So without a further ado, let’s get down to the fights!

Roxanne Modafferi VS Marloes Coenen

Poor Marloes. First she was supposed to face Cris Cyborg. Then she was supposed to fight Erin Toughill but she pulled out. Now with less than two weeks notice, Roxanne Modafferi comes in to save this fight from not happening. Roxanne and Marloes met before back in 2007 in the K-Grace tournament finals, which was Roxanne take the split decision. This time, neither girl will be tired by the time they hit the cage, but on the other hand, Roxanne has not had time to properly peak and Marloes has been going on a rollercoaster with this fights opponents as well.
There is alot more mental stress that is going to come into play rather than the physical stress. Marloes has had her opponent switched three times now and her final opponent is a woman who beat her two years ago. Roxanne has not fought in a year and was given less than two weeks notice to take this fight. Marloes has not fought since January but nonetheless, had a lot more prep time.
Despite these factors, I think we can expect a war between two fighters who want to give their all on the big stage and are both looking to send a message to the MMA Community – For Marloes, it is stamping her mark in Strikeforce and for Roxanne, it is the fight she has been hoping for since her last match.
Expect a very good back and forth exchange on the feet and on the mats in this one, and in the end, I see Roxanne pulling another win over Marloes, especially if she can get her on her back and keep her their. This is going to be a fun one and put a good taste back in the publics eye over women’s MMA after seeing Carano crushed at the last show. I really do not think ring rust will be a factor at all and this will be a great battle, but imagine what could have been if both had more time to prepare for each other!

Antonio Silva VS Fabricio Werdum

“Bigfoot” returns to America for the first time in over a year since his suspension to take on BJJ specialist Fabricio Werdum. Here is a pretty good test for Antonio Silva, whose hardest fight so far has been Ricco Rodriquez. Werdum, on the other hand, already has faced some of the top MMA fighters in his division, including a victory over Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (remember when we were going to get that fight? Now I’m depressed).
Height will not be an issue in this fight so it comes down to who has the better skills. Tougher call than I imagined, especially considering the streak of Silva. Werdum is most likely going to end up on his back at some point during this fight and Silva can do serious damage with his ground and pound. Is it enough to finish Werdum? Depends on the referee I would say, but in my opinion, I think Werdum has the ability to end the fight on the ground. I doubt that Silva will give him that chance though and will try to keep this standing as much as possible.
Tough call for me but I think Silva will continue his streak. If he can do it, it will be his biggest win of his career thus far and will definitely cement him in a match down the line for the title, or at least a shot at the winner of Rogers VS Fedor to see who gets a crack at Overeem. I see Silva catching Werdum with a shot, dropping him, and then finishing with a ground and pound TKO. Otherwise, Werdum is a smart customer and he is going to school Silva if his game is not up to par.

Gegard Mousasi VS Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Gegard and Sokoudjou could have actually met in the Super Hulk tournament, but instead Mousasi pulled out and headed over to Strikeforce to take on a much better fight and a huge victory over Babalu. Sokoudjou is set to head back to the land of the rising sun to take on Minowaman on Dynamite!! 2009, but that is if he makes it out of this fight in one piece.
This is Mousasi all the way and it will be a dominant Mousasi. I make no hesitation in making that pick. Sure, Soko has the strikers chance but he has shown he has not evolved into picking up any semblance of a ground game and Mousasi is a serious veteran who is out to crush anyone in his way, which is what he has been doing since 2003. If you’re a betting man, put the house on the fighter with the worst nickname in MMA, “The Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi.

Jake Shields VS Jason “Mayhem” Miller – Strikeforce Middleweight Championship

There sure are alot of Elite XC guys on this card, huh? The host of “Bully Beatdown” and MMA journeyman meets the Cesar Gracie Black Belt who has gone undefeated in his past 12 fights! It’s a clash of personalities as much as it is a bout for a piece of gold. Something neat to note, Shields has appeared three times on Bully Beatdown, handing out whuppings to douchebags and making it safe for fight nerds like me to walk the streets.
So how does this fight go down? Like fireworks on the fourth of July! This match will be very exciting and maybe fight of the night on an already pretty great line up. I am going with Shields to take the win here in a very exciting match that has the potential to go all five rounds but I doubt it will go that far as Shield has also finished his last 8 opponents. Granted, most were by submission and Mayhem is a submission fighter but for most of his career, when he is against a fighter with some serious credentials, he either goes to the end or close to it. On the plus side though, Mayhem will have another shot at a title sometime soon in Dream when he gets his rematch with Jacare for the Dream Middleweight Title, which is another fight I am looking forward to before the end of this year!

Fedor Emelianeko VS Brett Rogers

What can we say about Fedor? Poor guy has had his ups and downs this year with the death of Affliction, the negotiating hell between M-1 and Zuffa, and dealing with becoming a fighter in the mainstream eye. Now Strikeforce is pushing him as the main attraction, and it is a tough sell to push a foreign fighter, no mater how good he is, to an American audience.
Enter Brett Rogers, a man with a golden ticket to the top of the food chain if he can knock Fedor off. Undefeated in MMA, in his last outing “Grim” polished off Andrei Arlovski in almost a tenth of the time it took Fedor. Let’s not talk about early stoppages and for the sake of argument just take it for what it is at this point. Despite that big win on his record, Rogers has not been tested quite like Fedor has and the pressure is on to prove that Rogers should be taken seriously.
What can we expect to see in this fight? I predict the Zuluzinho rush, the same tactic Fedor has used against Big Tim Sylvia as well. Straight down the pipe slugging it out and working to toss Grim to the ground. Doing that can also play into Roger’s gameplan, which will most likely be headhunting. I think we will see Fedor take some punishment but in the end, I see a knockdown followed by a submission to give Fedor his first win on American TV.

So to sum it up, I am going with Modafferi, Silva, Mousasi, Shields and Fedor. I am looking forward to a very good and very stacked night of fights that, most importantly, I get to enjoy for free! Strikeforce is banking alot on Fedor as you can imagine, and should he lose this fight, I do not see it doing nearly as much harm compared to Kimbo losing in Elite XC. Mainstream America already knew Kimbo before his MMA days, but the public is still unaware of Fedor, so if this pudgy Russian man should lose his fight to the mohawked dude, I think only MMA fans will weep. But we will talk more about that situation if it happens.

So do you agree or disagree with my picks? Let me know in the comments below and if anyone wants to have me over to watch, just let me know. I should warn you, I eat more pizza and buffalo wings than someone my size should, so I hope you can afford my bill at the end of the night.