Brett Rogers has the toughest task in sports ahead of him on Saturday in Chicago: Stepping into the cage with the best fighter in mixed martial arts, Fedor Emelianenko.But Rogers, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound hard-punching heavyweight, says he has a surprise in store for Fedor and for MMA fans. Rogers insists that Fedor has never fought anyone with his combination of size, speed and power, and he's expecting to become the heavyweight champion of MMA on Saturday.
In an interview with FanHouse, Rogers discussed the fight with Fedor, growing up in the projects in Chicago and how his life has changed since beating Andrei Arlovski in June. The full interview is below.
Most people consider Fedor the best heavyweight in the world and maybe the best MMA fighter ever. Is that what you think?
I think he's one of the best, looking at his record and his history he's definitely great. But he's facing a new, improved heavyweight: He hasn't fought anyone like me. The way I see it, he hasn't been tested the way I'm about to test him.
How many of Fedor's fights have you seen?
I had never sat down to watch one of his fights until his last fight against Andrei Arlovski. Before that I had just seen clips here and there. I think it's good that I haven't been a big Fedor fan: A lot of the guys he's fought fall too deep into the hype.
But now that you're preparing to fight him, don't you need to study his fights to learn his tendencies?
Oh, yeah, definitely. He's almost too relaxed a fighter sometimes and I think I can do some damage when I pick my shots.
How much do you weigh right now?
I'll make 265 pounds, that won't be a problem.
But are you heavier than that now?
Yeah, I walk around at about 280, 285.
Will it be tough for you to make the limit of 265 on November 6 at the weigh-in?
No. I go up and down and have no problems shedding the weight when I need to.
What's the most you've ever weighed?
The most I've ever weighed is about 320 pounds. It sucked having to get down to 265 for my next fight after that, so now I try to stay within 30 pounds of 265.
How much do you think your size advantage helps you against Fedor?
I'll definitely be the bigger, taller, stronger fighter. I know he's fought some guys who are bigger, like [7-foot-2 Korean kickboxer Hong Man Choi], but he's never fought someone who brings the kind of challenges that I'm going to bring into the cage. He hasn't been hit the way I'll hit him.
Can you really say that? Fedor has fought some very powerful strikers, such as Mirko Cro Cop when he was at the top of his game.
I would definitely put myself up against anyone when it comes to punching power. I bring the power and the speed.
I know you want to stand up and trade punches but what kind of ground game do you have?
I train in jiu jitsu, but mostly my jiu jitsu is defensive. Obviously, I prefer to stand and bang. But I can do what I have to do. If it does go to the ground, I can do what I need to do to get back up and make him pay for it. I'm going to be the dominant force in the cage, and if he tries to take me out of my game, I'll make him pay for it.
Where are you in your Brazilian jiu jitsu -- white belt, blue belt, purple belt, what?
Man, I have no clue. I don't rank myself with belts and I don't care about other people's belts. To me, that can be solved with a punch to the head or a punch to the body. Most of my jiu jitsu is just about getting out of bad situations. I want to win my fight by knockout.
I think a lot of fans don't know much about your background. Where did you grow up?
My birthplace is Chicago. I grew up on the South Side and the West Side. I lived in Cabrini Green. When I was 12 we moved up to Minnesota. My childhood kind of had the good mixed with the bad.
Was it a tough area, where you grew up?
My old neighborhood in Chicago was definitely the ghetto. Every day it was a challenge getting to school and getting home from school, walkiing home without getting messed with. You had to walk a certain way and look over your shoulder, and I had two younger siblings I had to take care of, too. There were a lot of gangs at that time -- it was pretty bad. That's the reason why my grandma was like, "We've got to go. We've got to move." If I had stayed in Chicago I would've been like everybody else, joining gangs.
Was that upbringing the reason you wanted to learn how to fight?
At a young age I always wanted to learn some kind of martial art discipline but we just didn't have the money. When I was young I played basketball and football because I'm a competitor and competitors have to do something, but what really excited me was when I was able to take tae kwon do, and then I did some amateur boxing, and then from there I kind of found out about MMA.
What kind of athlete were you when you were young?
The thing about me was, any sport I played, I always went hard. I was good at basketball, but I was playing center and you can only get so far as a center if you're 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds.
Do you still have a lot of friends and family in Chicago?
Yeah, I have cousins and aunts, and they know I've got a big fight coming up, so hopefully I'll have a lot of fans there.
Your knockout of Andrei Arlovski in June established you as one of MMA's top heavyweights, but before that was it hard for you to make a living in the sport?
Yeah, I had to get by on odd jobs. My main job was Sam's Club, but I had I don't know how many part-time jobs. I'd just do little things like delivering papers to try to get by. I had a busy schedule between working and training. I barely saw my family and friends. I had to squeeze in training time, work, more training time, work another job, and then go home and try to get some sleep. I'm so glad that now I'm at the point, since the Arlovski fight, that all I have to worry about is working out and whipping someone in the cage.
There was a time when a lot of people thought you were going to fight Kimbo Slice. What do you think of Kimbo?
He's just another guy trying to make a living, same as me. That fight would've been nice, but I want to fight the best to become the best.
What are your long-term goals in MMA?
I'm not going to be fighting forever so I've got to make money, but at the same time, Randy Couture is forty-some years old [46] and he's still standing in there banging, so I hope I can keep going that long. I'll be fighting as long as my body can do it. It's a great sport, and I'm taking my training seriously so that I can do it a long time.
How many more fights do you have on your Strikeforce contract?
Two more. But what I think about my contract is as long as I keep winning, I'm going to do fine. I don't plan on losing any time soon. I'm leaving all my options open but Strikeforce has taken care of me. [Strikeforce CEO] Scott Coker has been good to me, and I want to keep fighting, keep trying to be the best.
What do you think people are saying about Brett Rogers now and what do you think they'll be saying about you after you fight Fedor?
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.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
i hope rogers knocks out fedor, i like fedor but i like rogers better, i dont think it will happen though, ill take fedor by 1st round RNC
Amen! Slay that Yeti, Rogers! Rogers is going to come in, Fedor is going to try to take him down. But before he does that, he is knocked out. And then he can go back to Zhapan, fighting Sapps, freak shows, and tall giants.
Just so there is no confusion.
If Fedor wins you are leaving this site forever? Thats what you said, correct? Are you going to honor your word and stay gone forever? No excuses about being sick, being paid by the russian mafia, saying glenn beck made him do it or whatever other crack pot reasoning you could come up with.
If Fedor beats Rogers you leave forever ... right?
Oh no! Don't you guys DARE plant a seed in the alleged "minds" of Fedora fanboys that he will lose! That CANNOT happen! Who will they run to comfort their wounded pride when he does? Will they hide in the closet with their anatomically correct Kimbo Slice blowup dolls instead of admitting they were wrong? On Saturday I believe the Fedora myth will deflate quicker than their dolls after a night of rough dry humping.
I still have this hunch that Fedor finds a way to get out of this fight. Maybe he will put something in Rogers' water or the Russian Mafia will pay the athletic commission to suspend Rogers for being too dangerous to Fedor. I want this fight to happen though. Rogers is no Sylvia or Arlovski. He may have no ground game but if he catches Fedor flush, it will be all over.
That has to be the dumbest man in MMA. Fedor is going to have him tapping like a little baby. Its almost laughable this guy is fighting one of the best heavyweights.
brett rogers=joke
God, the ignorance on these posts is sometimes appalling. First of all, Fedor is the greatest overall fighter in MMA, and will be, historically, even if he loses. He's been my favorite fighter, and I guess still is. But I'm going Rogers on this one--and people who think Rogers has no ground game haven't done a lick of homework. He's coached by one of the best--and Rogers "not knowing" what belt rank he is comes precisely from that iconoclastic lineage, where you prove yourself by what you can do. Fedor is still the more masterful groundfighter, but Rogers has more than enough potential to counteract it if he uses his skills. This will be a great fight regardless, though, and anyone disrespecting EITHER Rogers or Fedor doesn't know sh*t about MMA.
Exp, Dan, Kevin - What's with all the hate?
I enjoy the sport and all ... but why take it SO seriously that you express hate for fighters who are just doing their job and trying to make a living? Show some respect and get a life.
I just hope that it's a good fight.
What hate man. You Fedor fan boys have been calling me "retard" "idiot" "moron" and all kinds of names for the past week. I don't hate Fedor but he is a freak show. I wish him the best but I think he is overrated and may get knocked out. He hasn't fought anyone in years.
I don't hate Fedor. I just think he is overrated. He is protected by the Russian government and Mafia. There is no hate here though.
Fedor is unmarketable. That's all there is to it. Not built like an athlete, can't speak english, and that's not according to me but Sherdog. Sorry. It's not hate. It's the truth.
hate? did i not say i like both of them i just like rogers better and want him to ko fedor, then i said i dont think that will happen and fedor will win
Kevin - I put your name there on accident ... the other 2 were the haters.
"Life"? Is that what you call typing online all day professing your love of the "myth"? We'll see Saturday..
What will happen if Rogers beats Fedor? Well guys like me and most Fedor fans will say Rogers has proven he's a beast and deserves all the credit in the world for what he achieved.
Of course Fedor haters will say he lost to nobody and basically disrespect Rogers achievement and Fedor's for going unbeaten as long as he has.
If Fedor wins as I expect he'll be disrespected and so will Rogers as if it's shameful to step into the ring with Fedor and lose.
Now if Fedor's name was Brock and he lost in his first fight in a new org, people would just throw that aside and make all sorts of excuses as to why he's the best!
Of course Carwin is a beast now! He has a similar record to Rogers with his only big win against a seriously overrated Gabriel Gonzaga, who incidentally was mopping the floor with Carwin up until he landed one shot.
At least Rogers has a legitimate destruction over Andrei Arlovski who is a genuine top ten HW fighter with skills galore. Personally I think to call AA glass chinned as the haters call him is way off base and unfair.
He's been ko'd a handful of times and it's been by top fighters with real power. That's the real danger of the HW division, virtually any big guy can take another big guy out with one shot at any given moment. That's another reason Fedor's accomplishments are that much more astonishing, it's what weight class he's made his run in.
So keep hating, keep making excuses about both of these fighters, it only shows that you are blind haters more than anything else.
So basically you are saying that you will worship Fedor forever even though he has been protected and he is fighting someone who shouldn't be fighting. OK. So why even bother with you? Listen to yourself. Brock just started with MMA recently (a few years). But he has only a couple of fights. Fedor is the best human being since Adam according to you Fedor fan boys.
If Fedor loses to Rogers, he is exposed as a fraud, Russian Marketing creation, and a fat dude who can't fight. That's the end of the story. You better hope he doesn't lose or I'll call each and every one of you who called me and other REAL mma fans all these names in the past week out. You better pray to God Fedor that he doesn't lose.
Great points, Niv.
The guy above me, who's name will go unmentioned due to his complete idiocy, should find a sport that he knows something about and go make comments there.
Uh, exp, if Fedor loses to Rogers it doesn't mean a whiff of any of that. It means Rogers is that good. And whenever we finally get to see Lesnar have to face Rogers I hope you crawl out of Brock's rectum long enough to see your boy hit the canvas out cold.
For the trillionth time. I am not a lesnar fan. I picked Carwin to beat him in Round 1. Why don't you listen? Of course, you and people like you are good at name calling but you don't listen what I say.
And no. Fedor is no good if he loses. I am tired of listening to you Fedor fan boys making anyone Fedor beats bigger than they are and preparing yourself for the day he loses to a legit opponent. Rogers is a puncher. If Fedor can't take him to the ground and pound him out, then he is a fraud.
Fedor beats Sylvia and Sylvia was so great. Fedor beats Arlovski, and he was the best in the world. And if Fedor loses to Rogers, it's not that Fedor is terrible, it just Rogers was lucky or good or both. Please. Roger has no quality win (except arlovksi). By your count, Fedor has 30 quality wins. If that is truly the case and Fedor loses, he is a fraud. Why can't you accept that? And don't throw Lesnar at me.
Your one to talk EXP.
I picked Machida to knock out Rua in the second round, thought Rua won the fight and yet you want to say I'm racist, xenophobic, pride fanboy and a fedor fanboy of all things. Your little more than a hypocrite. I'm rooting for Fedor just to see you weasel out of leaving the site ... it will be hilarious.
Your just a hater and a psychophant.
Anyone with 30 wins, even if they were against tomato cans which they most definitely weren't, isn't a fraud!
What kind of person can watch a Fedor highlight on youtube, see his toughness and what he is capable of, and then come here and spout such crap?