What Brett Rogers lacks in MMA experience, he certainly makes up for in confidence. The 10-0 heavyweight, who recently agreed to fight Fedor Emelianenko later this fall, has never been shy about telling the world how good he is. When he meets one of the best fighters in the world on Showtime, he will have the opportunity to show them.FanHouse spoke to Rogers on Thursday about this opportunity of a lifetime and how he plans on defeating Emelianenko. The full interview is below.
Ariel Helwani: When we spoke two weeks ago in San Jose, you said you wanted to get paid what you thought you deserved if you fought Fedor Emelianenko. So now that the fight has been booked, are you happy with your purse?
Brett Rogers: I could be a little happier; I always can be a little happier, right? I mean, but it's good. I can't complain.
Were you surprised that you received the first shot at him?
Not really, because it was already kind of out there that we wanted to fight each other. So it only makes sense for us to fight first.
Scott Coker told FanHouse on Wednesday that you were flying to New York to film some vignettes for Showtime and other media stuff. How are you dealing with all of this?
Man, life is good; I'm digesting it well. I'm moving up slowly but surely. I'm seeing a little piece of the East Coast. I can't complain, man.
Do you know when and where the fight will take place?
No. I'm not exactly sure when or where it's going to happen. I just know it's going to happen.
Several sources say it may happen in Minnesota. Considering you are from that area, how special would that be for you?
That would be sick, man. It's been a long time since I fought in Minnesota, and there's a bunch of Minnesota fans that want to see it. But, hey, I have no control over that. Whenever, wherever -- I don't care.
It has been suggested recently that Fedor is dodging the best the UFC has to offer by not signing with them. Do you agree?
No. Fedor can fight whoever he wants, the way I see it. I'm pretty sure it was a different situation with the UFC versus Strikeforce. Coming to Strikeforce, you know, was definitely a little different swing, I guess you can say. But as far as the heavyweights over there, I mean, what heavyweight over there is so special besides -- who? -- Brock [Lesnar]. Everybody compares Brock as if he is the second-best heavyweight in the world, and I see different, and Brock is from my hometown. So competition-wise it's no different.
Do you think Brock Lesnar is overrated?
Yeah. Yeah, actually, I do. Brock is overrated. I mean, look at how many fights he's had; he's had a handful fights. He's only showcased that he's just a wrestler and a ground-and-pounder. I mean, he hasn't fought anybody the same size as him. So it's going to get to that point when that happens it really is going to showcase Brock's talent.
Will you study a lot of Fedor's past fights in preparing for this bout?
Oh yeah. I've been watching a handful of his fights, but the ones I'm really going to concentrate on are his last five, because those are the ones that really matter, you know? Going way back in time, those are the ones that he improves his skills. I want to see where he's at right now. So he has some loopholes. When he gets excited that's when he can get caught. That's the way I see it, especially if he wants to stand and bang with me. Otherwise, I can see a ground-and-pound game, too. I'm definitely not going to allow him to lead the fight. That's just not happening.
Are you ready to fight Fedor on the ground?
Yeah, I'm definitely preparing for it. He loves jiu-jitsu, and I mean, jiu-jitsu is good but you have to catch somebody for that. I've definitely been working on getting out of submissions, and most importantly, standing up. It's tough taking somebody down, and [if] you don't succeed in that, it tires you out. So I'm going to shoot for that and keep my weight on him.
If you beat Fedor, that will probably go down as one of the biggest ...
I'm God then. I'm the God of MMA. I'll become the God of MMA, right? Isn't that how it goes? I'm the soul snatcher; I'm the grim. I'll take all his wins and put them under my belt, and then everybody can just hush up.
Are you prepared for that?
There's no other reason but to fight the best. I don't fight for fun. I fight for the title; I fight for the money, and the respect. That's me, and a lot of folks need to know that. I don't care to just get in and have fun.
Do you believe that this fight and potential victory is your destiny?
I definitely feel that it's destiny, man. I can say that everything is just kind of smooth. I take the fights one at a time. I just go off of that. Let me know who I'm fighting, train for them, and just fight to the best of my abilities. That's all I can promise people.
How do you envision this fight ending?
I'm going to knock him out. He's going to give me his chin, somehow, someway. He's going to get sloppy with that overhand right that he loves to do or he'll try to shoot in for a takedown, and I'll catch him with either a knee or an uppercut ... something. I'm going to drop him. I want the crowd to go (gasp). I want to get that reaction out of people. So I can't wait.
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