Brett Rogers Plans On Knocking Out Overeem, Rematching Fedor In 2010

As the old saying goes, a fighter gains more knowledge from a loss than from a win.

Last November, Brett “The Grim” Rogers (10-1) stepped in the cage against world No. 1-ranked heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko (31-1).

Rogers gave Fedor all he could handle, and then some, for the majority of the fight.

Then, at the 1:48 mark in round two, Emelianenko threw a fight-ending, counter-right hand, leaving the world in awe of the finish.

Rogers attributed the downturn in that fight to his lack of aggression. However, the heavyweight considers it a lesson learned. He will go into future bouts with more confidence.

“I know that if I would have came out a little more aggressive, that the tables would have been turned," Rogers said. "That fight, I treat it as a lesson learned. Fedor is a highly ranked fighter and he’s been in the game for a long time. I learned a lot from that fight and I’m going to take what I learned and I’m going into this fight with a lot more confidence. I know I’m going to take care of myself.”

Since the fight in November, Rogers has taken very little time off. He has enlisted two training facilities in California to help him prepare for this camp.

“I’ve been training out in California for the last month and two weeks or so," Rogers explained. "I’ve been training at the body shop with Antonio McKee. He’s definitely known for his wrestling abilities and striking”

“He’s also got a lot of big boys out there, and I’ve also been training out at Millennia in Rancho Cucamonga, too. Millennia has a bunch of heavyweights, and I’ve never been to a gym that has so many guys. They have guys ranging from 6’2, 250lbs to 300lbs. They also have Maurice Jackson, he’s 6’7 or 6’8 and just working with those guys that are going to push me and help me get the win this weekend.”

Rogers is speaking of a potential win against Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (32-11). The fight is scheduled for Saturday night in St. Louis, Missouri.

Rogers was originally set to fight the champion last year, but Overeem had to drop out due to a hand infection. Instead of waiting around, Rogers stepped in against Fedor.

Now he gets his chance to capture the heavyweight championship.

“Man, it’s on—you wait all that time and then when you finally get approved to go, it’s a great feeling," Rogers said. "I’ve been wanting the title for quite some time and I’m happy he accepted and I’m happy Strikeforce allowed me the chance to fight for the title this time. Especially off a loss, I’m sure a lot of people were kinda confused by that but a lot of people don’t understand that I’ve been gunning for this for quite some time and I’ve been working hard on trying to get it. For those people that doubted, they’ll definitely see and see the time that I’ve put in on going after this title.”

Overeem won the title in late 2007, but has yet to defend the championship.

In a recent interview with Bleacher Report's Gary Herman, Overeem stated “I won the title in 2007, but there were no other opponents in Strikeforce."

Rogers, however, has his own notions as to why the champion has been reluctant to fight in America. Speculation has run rampant over Overeem's drastic gain in size over that time span. This has led many to question the legitimacy of the weight gain, including Rogers himself.

“Overeem, he’s just one of those guys that’s going to talk the talk and he feels he can because he’s got the belt right now," Rogers said. "For him to say there’s no competition over here and in Strikeforce, that’s a lie. I’m pretty sure his main reason for hiding out over there in Japan is because of his use of steroids and he’s definitely going to feel some competition this weekend, I can tell you that.”

Rogers adds that there is another reason why the champion has been reluctant to defend the title.

“There’s just something about the guy, he’s overly confident and I don’t know why because he’s been fighting a lot of small dudes," he said. "It’s not like I’m coming in there with the small man mentality, if anything I’m going to show the small guys what they should’ve done to him. I’ve been watching tapes on him for such a long time that I just can’t give him a lot of credit cause he’s been hiding behind K1 and he’s only been fighting smaller dudes. He’s definitely going to see the difference when it comes to fighting in the cage and fighting with the 4 oz. gloves on. It’s definitely going to be a huge difference.”

Those same 4 oz. gloves have cost Overeem six fights, by TKO or KO, and Rogers feels he can exploit that weakness with his powerful strikes.

“I’m definitely going to gun for it, the head isn’t meant to be touched with such force," Rogers added. "That’s one of his weaknesses and that’s probably why he’s been fighting smaller men because he doesn’t want people to touch him as much. If he’s going in there with that mentality that he can hide behind his fists then he’s going to get knocked out. I’m going to get him to keep his hands up and we’re going to see how that plays out.”

“I could see him wanting to stand for a little bit until I touch him then after that he’s going to want to clinch or go to the ground. I’m not allowing either one and he’s not controlling the pace, I’m controlling the pace.”

If Rogers is successful in controlling the pace of the fight Saturday night, and departs the arena as the new Strikeforce heavyweight champion, it could very well place him in line for a rematch with Fedor later this year. That scenario plays out perfectly in “The Grim’s” mind.

“That definitely makes sense to me, the Fedor fight, but I take one fight at a time and right now Alistair is on my radar and he’s a little too close for comfort so I’m just going to have to take him out and take everything else from there," Rogers said. "2010, if I could finish it off with the Fedor rematch, that’d be bomb for me right there. After that defend the title one more time and go into 2011.” 

With fight night rapidly closing in, Brett Rogers is more focused and motivated than ever before. Rogers looks to capture the Strikeforce heavyweight championship he's worked so hard for.

Additional information on Brett "The Grim" Rogers can be found via Twitter @thegrimrogers