This coming Saturday Brett Rogers will be the next man who will try to tarnish the growing Bruce Lee-esque legend of Fedor Emelianenko, as the undefeated heavyweight will throw down with “The Last Emperor” in Chicago. Aside from a few fleeting moments over the last few years, (see his bouts with Andrei Arlovski or Kazuyuki Fujita), Fedor has of course been pretty damn impressive, giving MMA nerds around the world plenty of ‘that’s what’s up’ moments. A win for Rogers would immediately catapult the imposing fighter into the sport’s upper eschelon.

Speaking to Fanhouse about this week’s bout, Rogers conceded that he doesn’t want to “fall too deep into the hype” surrounding Emelianenko. Fair enough. Watch footage of Fedor’s ground-and-pound and your face gets tired from cringing. In regards to the ground game, the American heavyweight says that “he can do what I need to do to get back up”, and that Fedor will “pay for it.” Huh. Perhaps we’ll see.  

Aside from blasting people’s jaws, we’ve also noticed recently that Roger’s is pretty damn good at working the mic, case in point:

Right now they’re saying I’m fat and out of shape and I have no chance, but the people saying negative things about me are the people who don’t know me. Once everybody sees what I do in the cage, jaws are going to drop.

Should be good. Best of all, you can watch it for free on CBS; nothing wrong with that.

In an interesting story from Sherdog.com’s Loretta Hunt today, it was revealed that former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski will soon head to New Mexico, for a training stint with Greg ‘This Guy Knows His Sh#t’ Jackson. Of course Jackson is the MMA genius who has helped the careers of a couple of dudes you may have heard of, namely Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, and Georges St. Pierre.

The news is further evidence that Arlovski remains focused on getting his MMA career back on track. After his KO loss to Brett Rogers, there was a lot of speculation regarding the fighter’s mind set and whether or not he would finally embark on a boxing career. (Although, coming off back-to-back losses- the other to Fedor Emelianenko in January- perhaps Arlovski thought better of entering into a sport where your brain gets battered more often than a piñata.)

Recent losses aside, this is the same guy that KO’d Roy Nelson and Ben Rothwell just last year, two dudes that are receiving a lot of attention in the UFC. (‘Big Country’ Nelson, for his ‘ damn that thing is big’ mesmerizing belly, well, and of course, for taking out Kimbo Slice, and Rothwell for his upcoming tilt with Cain Velasquez) Plus, at just 30 years old, were thinking that people aren’t done hearing about Arlovski for a while yet.

According to the Sherdog report Arlovski is currently in negotiations for his next bout, and that he hopes to fight again in December or January.

Showtime has announced that Fedor Emelianenko will take on the undefeated Brett Rogers in the Russian heavyweight’s Strikeforce debut later this fall. According to a report from MMA Junkie, no official date has yet been announced; however, the promotion’s CEO Scott Coker recently stated that Emelianenko’s first Strikeforce bout would take place in November.

The fight was formally announced at an open workout Emelianenko held today in New York City.

So, there you have it. Fedor gets to take on the dude who knocked out the last dude he knocked out…make sense? (Incase you’ve forgotten, Rogers bombed out Andrei Arlovski in just 22 seconds back in June- Fedor dropped Arlovski like a bad habit in January)

After the scheduled Josh Barnett / Fedor Affliction bout was pissed away in late July, Fedor’s camp publicly stated that they were hoping something with Rogers would get lined up. Looks like they got their wish.

Stay tuned for an official date regarding the Showtime / Strikeforce card; an announcement regarding the inevitable UFC counterprogramming will follow… 

In a recent interview with ESPN Radio 1100, (thanks to MMA Bay for the tip) UFC President Dana White once again became rather perturbed when the idea that Fedor Emelianeko is the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter was introduced. (Actually by White’s standards, the charismatic President remained fairly composed, as not every second word was the f-bomb) In keeping with arguments that White has made in the past, he insisted that Emelianenko has not fought notable enough competition over the last few years to be considered one of the world’s best, before, crediting (no surprise here) UFC champions like Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre for fighting elite fighters 3 or 4 times a year.

White did acknowledge that Fedor ‘might be’ one of the planet’s best heavyweights, but that’s as far as he was willing to go. (It can be hard acknowledging, that in fact, other promotions actually possess world class fighters…) The interview also contained several zingers from White, who became particularly annoyed when Fedor’s win over Tim Sylvia was cited as evidence of the Russian heavyweight’s talent, to which the UFC President then asked if Ray Mercer should be considered the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter. Well played sir; well played.

Yes, Fedor’s wins over Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski have lost some of their ‘shine’ since both men have gone on to get knocked out, but still, we’re talking about a dude who has lost just once in over 30 MMA fights, and that was due to a cut. That’s like running through a car wash without getting wet; it’s hard to believe.

Just one day after Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio was quoted saying in a Fightline report that he believes Fedor Emelianenko will resign with the promotion, the WAMMA Champion himself has now stated that he believes that likelihood of him signing with UFC is slim. In an interview with Bas Rutten on HDNet’s “Inside MMA”, the Russian heavyweight said that he doesn’t think he has a future with the UFC “because the terms, and the manner in which those terms are offered, are not acceptable today.” (No Fedor did not offer any opinion on certain comments that were made in the past *cough* Dana White *cough* that may have ‘diminished’ his zeal to compete for the organization)

Now Fedor did not elaborate on what exactly the “terms” are, but it is believed that several issues, like the length of the contract, are huge hurdles in getting a deal done. (Not to mention the fact that he is still under contract to Affliction for his next fight with Josh Barnett on August 1^st)

Clearly lots can change during negotiations, and if Fedor does in fact beat Barnett, the UFC may be willing to move on certain sticking points. The Russian star told Rutten that he’s interested in fighting Brock Lesnar, but he also stated that entrenching a legacy is not really something that motivates him. In other words, if the UFC is counting on Fedor to bend over backwards in his demands, just so that he can test whether or not Lesnar’s face is more resilient to a right overhand than Andrei Arlovski’s, we may see Floyd Mayweather in the Octagon before “The Last Emperor.” (Meaning never…)

Andrei Arlovski will not be competing on an Affliction card anytime soon, as according to a report today by MMA Junkie (that is a confirmation of Fighter’s Only original report), the former UFC champion will not be offered a new contract by the organization. Arlovski, who was blown out by Brett Rogers in just 22 seconds at Strikeforce’s recent June 6^th card, has served out his current deal with Affliction. (In fact, Roger’s KO was so fast; one could still miss it by blinking during the slow-mo replay)

It’s been a roller coaster career for Arlovski, one which has seen the Belarus fighter rise to the top of the heavyweight division, and then slip on several occasions. (Like the career of Tom Cruise- a hit and miss mix of The Last Samurai and that horrifying appearance on Oprah)

During his time in the UFC, Arlovski put together several highlight reel wins, laid claim to the UFC crown, lost his back hair and really started hamming up his “Pitbull” angle. After losing again to Tim Sylvia in their 2006 rubber match, which was about as exciting as watching raccoons ravage through your garbage cans (actually it paled in comparison), Arlovski left the promotion last year on a 3 fight winning streak.

With Affliction, Arlovski took out two respected heavyweights in Roy Nelson and Ben Rothwell, before getting laid out like a picnic blanket by Fedor Emelianenko this past January. Although Arlovski made some serious dough for the bout, a reported 1.5 million, the outcome must have been particularly disappointing, considering he had been picking apart the WAMMA champ early in the fight.

It will be interesting to see where Arlovski winds up next, but one would think that due to his accomplishments and abilities, some organization will gladly sign him. (Although, Affliction like money will probably not be on the table)

Today’s news is perhaps not terribly surprising, although, if it had been the opposite, if he had resigned with Affliction for say a 3 fight deal, headlines would read ‘Affliction Not Done After August 1^st Trilogy.’

Affliction has set August 1^st aside for the long rumored bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett, according to a report today by MMA Fanhouse. Citing a source close to the fight, apparently both men have verbally agreed to the bout, although official contracts have yet to be signed.

If accurate, the news would put an end to a lingering and somewhat absurd sounding rumor that Affliction was going to put a pay-per-view together, featuring Fedor of course, to go head-to-head with UFC 100, July 11^th. To put this into context, UFC 100 will feature Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, GSP vs. Thiago Alves, as well as Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson. That’s a pretty stacked line-up. (To bet on UFC 100 go here)

Although avid MMA fans have long coveted any opportunity to watch The Last Emperor, (whose Fedor stories at parties are greeted with a similar level of skepticism that typically accompany tales of the Yeti) for many mainstream MMA fans, the name Emelianenko is as foreign to them as the term ‘import beer’.

Fedor didn’t look as dominant in his last tilt back on January 24th, as Andrei Arlovski appeared on his way to a victory over the WAMMA champ, until getting blasted into oblivion by a Fedor right. That said, he has beaten former UFC champs in back-to-back fights (who can forget his thrashing of Tim Sylvia last summer) and for many, Fedor is considered to be the the baddest dude on the planet.

Barnett, who is apparently, buddies with Fedor, tapped out Gilbert Yvel with strikes that same night. In any case, this should be a dandy. The former UFC champ hasn’t lost since December, 2006.

The Fanhouse story also states that there is a chance Vitor Belfort will fight Dream champion Gegard Mousasi, on the August 1st, Affliction card, which would also be an outstanding bout.

Coming off the heels of successfully getting KO’d by Fedor Emelianenko last month in his WAMMA/Affliction heavweight title bout, Andrei Arlovski will now attempt the same feat in a real boxing match.

Arlovski has signed with Golden Boy Promotions and is set to make his professional boxing debut on April 11th in Las Vegas against a still yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Not sure if this is the best all-time decision by Arlovski who, while a legit as they come MMA’er, has shown to have a chin made of papier-mâché at times. “One” would think that boxers are lining up in droves for this fight, because 100 blows to Arlovski’s chin every five minutes sounds like a recipe for disaster that even Richard Reid couldn’t screw up.

Arlovski looked in control of the first round…while it lasted. At 3:14, Arlovski came in with a flying knee and Fedor knocked him out cold.

Hopefully you followed our gambling advice and took Fedor, despite the lack of value in the bet.

• Fedor Emelianenko (-350) vs. Andrei Arlovski (+275): Fedor is heavily favored and for good reason, but there could be some value in that Arlovski pick.
• Matt Lindland (-185) vs. Vitor Belfort (+155): Vitor is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champ, Lindland is 38 and the last action he saw was losing an election for a seat in the House of Representatives. Seems like this line should be a little closer.
• Josh Barnett (-550) vs. Gilbert Yvel (+375): To say Barnett is heavily favored would be an understatement. Plus, can you really bet on a guy named “Gilbert?” Look for our picks in two weeks and find out.

Bet on Affliction: Day of Reckoning here.