Strikeforce Predictions: Can Brett Rogers Defeat Fedor Emelianenko?

After months of anticipation, Strikeforce is finally set to make its prime time debut on national television.

Headlining the show will be the man generally regarded as the top heavyweight in the world: Fedor Emelianenko.

What makes the main event even more interesting is that it will be Emelianenko’s first foray into the cage. Other fighters have had difficulty making the adjustment from the ring.

The most notable example is the man Emelianenko had his highest profile fight with—fellow Pride alum Mirko Cro Cop. After suffering a crushing defeat to Gabriel Gonzaga, Cro Cop admitted the cage gave him difficulties.

Will this new fighting structure give Emelianenko any new challenges? Can Jason Miller overcome the technical superiority of Jake Shields? And what does Sokoudjou have left (if anything) going against Gegard Mousasi?

To help get ready for the big show, I have answered those questions (and a few more) for the long-awaited start of the CBS/Strikeforce partnership.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers

Is there any possible way not to take Emelianenko in this fight? No, there isn’t. The fact that it’s in the cage will only be a detriment if Rogers plans to use that to his advantage. He isn’t. Rogers is not going to take Emelianenko down and push him into the cage.

All we’ve heard is, “Rogers has a puncher’s chance.” Well, so did every other fighter that Fedor stepped in the ring with. They all lost. There’s a reason for that, and it is, simply put, that Fedor is the best fighter in the history of the sport. Rogers will not make history. He’ll be history.

Fedor wins by first-round submission.

Jake Shields vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Shields and Miller will make for a very interesting fight. Miller is the type of fighter that is extremely difficult to submit. He’s only tapped out once in 27 fights, and that was more than seven years ago. That severely limits the jiu-jitsu wizardry of Shields. Shields’ only way to win will be by decision.

On the other hand, Miller is a much more well-rounded fighter. He’s capable of a knockout or submission at any time. While I believe Shields is the better fighter, Miller is a terrible matchup for him.

In the fight of the night, Jason Miller pulls the upset with a unanimous decision win. 

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Over the past year-and-a-half, all Mousasi has done is defeat Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo Souza, Mark Hunt, and Renato “Babalu” Sobral—and Mousasi finished all of the fights by knockout or submission. That is definitely one of the most impressive runs the sport has seen.

Now, he takes on an over-hyped and under-talented Sokoudjou, whose last big win came over two years ago against Ricardo Arona. Since then, Sokoudjou has been living off the two-fight legend he built in Pride FC (wins over Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira). He’s done nothing to prove those wins weren’t a fluke, and he won’t do anything again here.

Is Mousasi the best light heavyweight in the world? No, but he’ll get one step closer to the top.

Mousasi wins by second-round TKO.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva

Due to the unlikelihood of Alistair Overeem ever fighting in the United States again, Werdum vs. Silva is the fight to see who gets the next crack at Emelianenko (assuming he beats Rogers).

Werdum is a talented jiu-jitsu fighter, but recently he has had difficulty with powerful strikers. Both Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski were able to defeat Werdum. Mike Kyle even briefly looked good before his ineptitude on the ground was exposed.

Like Werdum, Silva’s also a very good jiu-jitsu fighter, but Silva has a big size advantage, and that will give Werdum problems.

Silva gets the spot in the next CBS main event with a second round TKO win.