Josh Barnett Is an 'Old Dog', Says Brett Rogers

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DALLAS - Once things started happening for Brett Rogers (11-2), they happened fast. Maybe a little too fast, looking back on it.

In April of 2009 he raised some eyebrows in his Strikeforce debut with a TKO win over the unheralded Abongo Humphrey. By the end of the following spring, he'd taken on former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, former Pride champion Fedor Emelianenko, and current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

That's not a step up into a different class of competition - it's a one-way rocketship to a whole different galaxy of competition. Rogers, who went 1-2 in that eleven-month stretch, learned a few hard lessons in a hurry that way. The good news is that as he prepares to face Josh Barnett (29-5) in the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix on Saturday night, he has the benefit of that hard-won wisdom to help him along. So he hopes, anyway.

"For one thing, I learned I need to calm my a-- down and not listen to everybody else," Rogers told MMA Fighting this week. "When I say everybody, I mean media, fans, manager. I was listening to everyone else. I know now, especially after this last title fight, ultimately it's me in the cage."

The last time Rogers was in the Strikeforce cage he got demolished in three and a half minutes by Overeem in a title fight he was never really competitive in. He rebounded in the small circuit with a decision win over journeyman Ruben Villareal, but he didn't train as hard as he should have for that fight, he admitted, and he "felt like crap" as a result.

The present-day Rogers is older, wiser, and not as brash as the one who called out Kimbo Slice at an EliteXC press conference. At the same time, he's still a "300-pound Spiderman" with a little swagger when he needs it, Rogers insisted.

"I can't always be 'hater Rogers.' I get a couple people saying, 'Why don't you bring back hater Rogers?' Hater Rogers ain't gone nowhere. It's still in there, please believe me. It's just, I need to take my time, analyze my opponents, and not just hear a name and say 'let's go.'"

But there are no easy fights in the Strikeforce tournament - especially not for someone as relatively inexperienced as Rogers. Barnett is a fourteen-year veteran of the sport with nearly three times as many fights to his credit. According to oddsmakers, he's also a heavy favorite, and even Rogers can understand their logic in that regard.

"In this fight? I'm not going to hate: yeah, I should be the underdog," Rogers said. "Josh, he's been in the game for such a long time. I mean, he's been all over the world, fought tough dudes, so I give him that."

But if there's one thing Rogers never lost confidence in, it's his own pure punching power. Against Barnett, he seems to be hoping that it might be his saving grace.

"If he decides to stand up with me, it's definitely going to be lights out for him," said Rogers. "Because he's getting older, and I ain't talking about his age, because I'm getting older too. ... I put him in that old dog category. Like you can't teach an old dog new tricks, I'm saying it like that. He has to come out and do it just as well as I do. We're just going to see how it is this weekend."

 

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UFC Signs Stipe Miocic, Small Promotion Handles It Right

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Stipe Miocic is an undefeated MMA prospect who two weeks ago won the heavyweight championship of a small promotion called the North American Allied Fighting Series. You've probably never heard of him, but you will soon, as he recently signed with the UFC.

Miocic is an exciting fighter who's finished all six opponents in his pro MMA career, and it's going to be fun to see how he performs when he takes a big step up in competition in the Octagon. But what really has me interested is the way the NAAFS reacted to its heavyweight champion leaving the promotion.

Sometimes small promotions try to keep their champions from leaving, signing them to onerous contracts that make it tough to leave if they want to jump to the big time. The NAAFS, however, released a statement praising Miocic for his accomplishment and the UFC for recognizing his talent.

"Stipe has worked extremely hard to earn his spot in the UFC and we are extremely happy to see him get his shot to compete against the worlds best fighters." NAAFS CEO Greg Kalikas said. "Stipe is undoubtedly a special talent and a quality human being as well."

That's exactly the way a small promotion should handle its champion leaving: A fighter leaving for the UFC is a good thing. It validates your promotion as one that grooms legitimate prospects. If Joe Silva sees your heavyweight champion and thinks, "This is a guy I want in the UFC," that validates your heavyweight belt.

Miocic is an up-and-comer worth keeping an eye on. So is the NAAFS.

 

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Stout scores possible KO of Year on Edwards at UFC 131

Sam Stout loves post-fight bonuses. Outside of Chris Lytle, "Hands of Stone" has cashed the most UFC bonuses in history. They usually come via the 15-minute route. Tonight, Stout took a different path by making quick work of Yves Edwards with a vicious knockout in less than four minutes. Stout landed a left hook that knocked Edwards stiff at 3:52 in the first round at UFC 131 in Vancouver.

"I thought it would take a little bit longer to be able to connect against a fighter of Yves Edwards' caliber. I was putting my combinations together and trying to slow him down. We've been working for several months on landing a left hook against a left-handed fighter," Stout said. "Tonight, it landed and it worked. It's an amazing feeling to score a knockout like that in front of the Canadian fans."

It could've very easily been Stout lying on his back. He ate a big right hand over his ear just a split second before his sledgehammer left hand caught Edwards on the chin.

Edwards, a UFC veteran who first fought for the promotion back at UFC 33 in 2001, was out on the way down and then slammed his head on the mat. Edwards' (40-17-1, 8-5 UFC) arms went out to his side and his eyes were wide open. The physicians attended to Edwards for nearly two and a half minutes before he rose to his feet. Once he got back to the locker room, Edwards was able to speak, but was still in shock.

"I've never been knocked out, so this is a tough loss for me. I've got to go back and see the tape to figure out where my defense broke down," Edwards said.

Stout has cashed bonuses on five previous occasions, good for over $200,000. While training for this fight in Las Vegas, the lightweight spoke with RawVegas and defended his go-for-broke style.

It certainly worked tonight. Stout (17-6-1, 6-5 UFC) has won 4-of-5 now in the UFC. At 27 years old, he may be turning the corner.

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Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella. Honorable mention goes to [...]

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MMA Marketplace: UFC 131 Walkout shirts for Carwin and ‘Cigano’

With UFC 131 just around the corner, it's time to take a look at the walkout shirts from the headlining heavyweights, Junior "Cigano" dos Santos and Shane Carwin.

Bad Boy's shirt for dos Santos comes in the familiar colors of the Brazilian flag, but have a bit of late-80s, Miami Vice, wearing-linen-suits-with-pastel-t-shirts-and-loafers-with-no-socks-vibe. Hopefully, Junior's cornermen will follow and dress like Crockett and Tubbs for Saturday night. Buy Junior's shirt for the slightly overpriced $39.99.

Carwin took a more cerebral, inspirational approach with his shirt, incorporating symbols that refer to war and engineering (his other job) as well as quote from "The Aeneid" by Roman poet Virgil. He even did a head nod to the fight taking place in Vancouver by using the Canadian spelling of "favours," though he could have bridged the differences by using the original Latin of "Audaces fortuna iuvat." (Ed. note -- I knew that taking Latin in high school would pay off some day!) Buy Carwin's shirt for $31.99.

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Six New Teams Added to MotoGP for 2012 Season

MotoGP has just announced that six new teams will be inducted into the premier motorcycle racing series come the 2012 season. Recieving more bids than there was room for, Dorna’s list of new entries is entirely comprised of teams who currently campaign in the Moto2 or 125 GP Championships, which is less surprising than it seems since these teams already have the resources and logistics to do the globetrotting that MotoGP requires, not to mention ...

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Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Predictions

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After a far-too-lengthy delay, Strikeforce's heavyweight tournament is finally about to return, with the final two first-round fights taking place on Saturday in Dallas, as Alistair Overeem rematches Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett takes on Brett Rogers.

What: Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum

When: Saturday, the undercard begins on HDNet at 8 PM ET and the main card starts on Showtime at 10.

Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas

Predictions below.

Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
This matches up the best striker in the heavyweight division in Overeem with the best grappler in the heavyweight division in Werdum. The first time these two fought, in Pride in 2006, Werdum's grappling got the better of Overeem, who tapped to a kimura in the second round.

But Overeem is a much, much better fighter now than he was then. For one thing, he's gone through an extraordinary physical transformation and is packing on about 30 pounds more muscle. For another, he has refined his kickboxing to the point where he won last year's K-1 World Grand Prix Final. Werdum isn't facing the same Overeem he was in Pride.

Werdum is also coming off the biggest win of his career, against Fedor Emelianenko a year ago, but I can't help but question whether the long layoff since the Fedor fight is going to be a problem for Werdum, who hasn't always stayed in top shape between fights. I like Overeem to smash Werdum and make a strong case that he's the most dangerous heavyweight in all of MMA.
Pick: Overeem

Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers
Barnett is a heavy favorite and has accomplished far more in his MMA career than Rogers, but I'm just not convinced that he still has it anymore: After getting busted for steroids before a planned fight with Fedor two years ago, Barnett has only fought twice, and although he won both, neither was against good opposition. I see the heavy-handed Rogers pulling off a surprise TKO win.
Pick: Rogers

K.J. Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal
Noons is fighting for the first time in 2011 after a very active 2010 saw him win three fights and then lose a hard-fought decision to Nick Diaz. Masvidal took it to Billy Evangelista in winning a one-sided unanimous decision in March, but I like Noons to stand and bang with Masvidal and win a decision.
Pick: Noons

Daniel Cormier vs. Jeff Monson
One of the best prospects in the heavyweight division in all of MMA, Cormier is a great wrestler who should have no trouble taking Monson down and controlling. At his best, Monson is a good enough submission grappler to threaten anyone on the ground, but at age 40 Monson is no longer at his best.
Pick: Cormier

Valentijn Overeem vs. Chad Griggs
A year ago, Strikeforce signed Griggs as nothing more than a warm body to throw in the cage with Bobby Lashley. But Griggs surprised everyone with an upset of Lashley, then won another fight with Gian Villante in February. Now he gets Valentijn, Alistair's older and less talented brother, and I think he'll make it three in a row in Strikeforce.
Pick: Griggs

 

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