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Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

Dana White would consider signing Brett Rogers if he knocks out Fedor

By Zach Arnold | October 23, 2009

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“Probably”:

“You know, again Fedor’s not fighting the top competition. You guys love to rank him high in the polls and say he’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, you guys are fucking nuts. He’s fighting Brett Rogers, you know what I mean? What do you guys think about it? I mean what do you guys think of Brett Rogers? You know what scares me about the Brett Rogers fight? Brett Rogers might knock him out! You know… I just think it’s terrible, I think that uh Fedor should be fighting Brock (Lesnar), that’s what I think. That’s the fight that should be happening. If the media and fans and anybody, anybody has the perception that this guy’s the best fighter in the world, he should be fighting the other best fighter in the world. Let me tell you what, when two guys get in there and fight, uh, he isn’t getting any younger, he hasn’t really been that active, he’s not the most physically fit guy you’ll ever see, and this guy Brett Rogers could end up clipping him, and then what does that mean? Is Brett Rogers the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world then? That’s probably where you guys would put him at! If he’s not in the UFC, Brett Rogers is #1! He’s the best Heavyweight in the world! That’s what I’m expecting if he knocks out Fedor.”

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 39 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

39 Responses to “Dana White would consider signing Brett Rogers if he knocks out Fedor”

  1. IceMuncher says:

    Dana would sign Brett Rogers in the blink of an eye for an insane amount of money and laugh all the way to the bank. He sets up a match between Lesnar and Rogers and no matter who wins, Dana winds up with the #1 fighter in every division in MMA.

    It’s all idle speculation though, Fedor is going to submit Rogers in the first. Then Rogers is going to get knocked out of the top 10 after everyone exploits his ground game, but he’ll still be a “quality” win for Fedor.

  2. Mike Rome says:

    I’d be pretty surprised if they didn’t sign Rogers to an extension before giving him this fight.

  3. The Citizen says:

    There are some times where I could care less what Dana White has to say. He’s a glorified carnival barker.

    Fedor is #1, Brett Rogers, unless he’s been hiding his secret ju-jitsu will go down in the first, I’m thinking via arm-bar —

    But he does remind me of a young Gary Goodridge as well, and Fedor decided he would punch that guy to the ground.

    Lets see how Lesnar does against Carwin before we book any dream matches.

  4. Come on, lets face it – hes gonna sign him anyway, maybe just not right away but soon regardless

  5. 45 Huddle says:

    Whoever beats Fedor…. Whether it is Rogers or even Jeff Curran…. The UFC is going to try and sign to a huge money contract.

  6. Steve4192 says:

    “I’d be pretty surprised if they didn’t sign Rogers to an extension before giving him this fight.”

    Why?

    They booked Alistair Overeem for a title fight when he was on a one-fight contract, and he absconded with their belt and hasn’t been seen stateside in over two years.

  7. Mark says:

    If he feels Rogers is too risky for Fedor (who has a fantastic chin) how does he feel about Brock Lesnar, who has never faced a dangerous striker, going in against Shane Carwin who has a lethal punch? Lesnar getting knocked out in round one is far more likely than Fedor getting knocked out. We’ve seen Fedor take some severe damage and keep going. Brock could have an ironjaw for all we know, but we don’t know.

    And I’d much rather have to promote Brett Rogers who has star potential than having to promote Shane Carwin, who is more vanilla than Vanilla Ice eating a carton of Hagan Daas vanilla ice cream with a vanilla wafer chaser. Rogers calling out Kimbo was far more entertaining than “Hey Brock stop saying mean things about the fans jerkface” from Carwin.

  8. Ultimo Santa says:

    Annihilating two former UFC Heavyweight Champions in a row, and then signing to fight Josh Barnett…this isn’t fighting top competition?

    And Brett Rogers, at 11-0, is as or more qualified to fight Fedor as Shane Carwin is to fight Brock Lesnar.

    Like Dana White, I’m disappointed that Fedor didn’t sign with the UFC…but his anti-Fedor rants are becoming ridiculous.

    The way casually launches personal attacks, re-writes history and twists facts…

    @ Mark

    LOL Great post. That’s what I love about this guy – he makes a great point, and he always comes with material.

  9. jr says:

    Overeem should be stripped of his title. The winner of Fedor and Rogers should get the belt. Coker needs to stop being a pushover

  10. Ultimo Santa says:

    Good point, jr.

    It would add more interest to the fight, and if Overeem is more interested in K-1 and Japan at this point, just tell him that he can fight the winner?

  11. 45 Huddle says:

    Brett Rogers doesn’t have star potential. And certainly not more then Shane Carwin. And neither will ever be at the level of Brock Lesnar. And I know people differ on their rankings…. but Rogers beating Arlovski and Carwin beating Gonzaga were pretty close in terms of equavilent wins to earn shots at Fedor and Lesnar respectively…

    “Overeem should be stripped of his title. The winner of Fedor and Rogers should get the belt. Coker needs to stop being a pushover”

    I agree. I know some people don’t see the importantance of the SF belts, but they are important at establishing their fighters.

    Casual Fan says: “So, if Fedor is so good, why isn’t he in the UFC?”

    Hardcore Fan says: “Well, he had a contract dispute with the UFC and decided to take a different deal with SF.”

    CF: “Then is he the SF champion.”

    HF: “Not Exactly. That is some other guy named Alistair Overeem.”

    CF: “So if Fedor is the best Heavyweight, why isn’t he fighting that guy?”

    HF: “Well, Overeem hasn’t fought for SF for a long time.”

    CF: “I’m so confused.”

  12. Alex Sean says:

    How sad is it that for all that Fedor has done in his career, all of the great fighter he’s beaten and wars he’s had, that due partly to his near-mythical status as a fighter and Dana White’s constant (ridiculous) questioning of his credibility, that anybody who ever goes on to beat him will be considered as having beat him either because Fedor was not what he used to be, or Fedor was never that good to begin with.

    The fact is, Dana White’s saying what Dana White feels he needs to say to turn as many people against Fedor, Strikeforce, and M-1 as possible. White has never and will never be one to be held up by things like courtesy, respect, and certainly not the truth.

    Consider this; Shane Carwin is the number one contender for the UFC Heavyweight Title by beating Gabriel Gonzaga in, let’s face it, one of the flukiest, embarrassing performances en route to a win possibly ever seen in the division. Fabricio Werdum, on the other hand, beat Gonzaga twice. So in that case, how can Shane Carwin be a legitimate number one contender and there be no top heavyweights outside the UFC?

    Now I’m not trying to bury UFC’s guys, I think the UFC heavyweight division has a lot of potential for the future. I think Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, and Junior Dos Santos, in the future, could possibly be top guys. But let’s not allow ourselves to be conned into thinking that a division that has three proven elite level fighters (Lesnar, Mir, Nogueira), three prospects (Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos), and a few gatekeepers (Gonzaga, Kongo, Cro Cop) is this super elite division that far surpasses what is outside the UFC. I could certainly see the argument made that Lesnar, Mir, and Nogueira are at least on par with Fedor, Arlovski, and Barnett. But there is no way that you could possibly tell me that Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos, Gonzaga, Kongo, and Cro Cop are on par with Sylvia, Werdum, Silva, Overeem, Rogers, and Monson.

  13. Henry says:

    If Rogers wins this fight, I predict the he will stage a holdout until Strikeforce gives him more than what UFC will give him

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    “Now I’m not trying to bury UFC’s guys, I think the UFC heavyweight division has a lot of potential for the future. I think Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, and Junior Dos Santos, in the future, could possibly be top guys. But let’s not allow ourselves to be conned into thinking that a division that has three proven elite level fighters (Lesnar, Mir, Nogueira), three prospects (Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos), and a few gatekeepers (Gonzaga, Kongo, Cro Cop) is this super elite division that far surpasses what is outside the UFC. I could certainly see the argument made that Lesnar, Mir, and Nogueira are at least on par with Fedor, Arlovski, and Barnett. But there is no way that you could possibly tell me that Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos, Gonzaga, Kongo, and Cro Cop are on par with Sylvia, Werdum, Silva, Overeem, Rogers, and Monson.”

    1. The UFC Heavyweight Division is the best Heavyweight Division in the entire sport. No other one compares in terms of quality of fighters and depth of competition.

    2. Overall, the names you are picking are nice, but they all fight in different organizations. And if the past has shown us anything, it is that unless fighters are tied down to exclusive contracts, it is tough to get them to fight each other.

    3. Now let’s compare the names you dropped at the end of the paragraph. Monson lost to Rizzo twice. He also should have dropped that decision to Nelson. He is out of the discussion. Both Sylvia & Filipovic are washed up until proven otherwise. Gonzaga and Kongo are proven gatekeepers.

    So now you are left with…. Werdum, Silva, Overeem, & Rogers…. And then Velasquez, Carwin, & Dos Santos.

    Dos Santos beat Werdum. Overeem’s biggest win at Heavyweight is Buentello. For him to even be in the discussion is a joke based on the competition he has fought at Heavyweight. And Velasquez, Carwin, & Rogers, and Silva are all in the same boat. Looks pretty darn even to me… If anything, the UFC gets a small bump up from Dos Santos beating Werdum.

    However, the major difference is that the UFC guys have gatekeepers (Kongo & Gonzaga), and established fighters (Mir & Nogueira) to fight against to prove themselves more over the long term. The other guys really don’t. Plainly stated, the UFC Heavyweight Division is the best out there.

    And trust me, I’m not justifying that division as a whole. Overall, it stinks. It is thin on talent… And even the talented ones have major holes in their game. But to act like the UFC’s HW division isn’t the best out there is really stretching it.

  15. Brad Wharton says:

    And trust me, I’m not justifying that division as a whole. Overall, it stinks. It is thin on talent…

    So how would it not stink? By adding guys like Monson and Overeem who you just discredited?

    MMA fans are a weird breed. We never seem to be satisfied with anything. The UFC has the best HW division since the 2003-5 era Pride, yet it ‘stinks’.

  16. Ultimo Santa says:

    @ Brad Wharton

    This is true. The UFC has done a great job of deepening the talent pool in the HW division over the last couple years.

    It seems like they have a lot of fresh fights that they can put together over the next year or so.

    Think about it: there is no shortage of guys they can put against Lesnar. But the other divisions…not to much.

    If/when Machida beats Shogun, who’s next? Not Anderson Silva, according to both camps, so who?

    For Anderson at MW, he’ll likely beat Belfort…but then who wants to see him annihilate Henderosn or Marquardt again?

    At WW I can’t see anyone except Anthony Johnson making a good match-up for GSP.

    They need to make some new stars, stat. Or 2010 could be a very challenging year for matchmaking.

  17. MK says:

    Anything that is outside of the UFC will always be considered second rate by all the casual fans and most of the so called hardcore fans. Even having the undisputed world heavyweight championship on the line in a decent match up live on network TV is a bad thing.

    These same people will salivate at the chance to pay $50 for almost the same fight (but slightly below that level since Brock is a paper champ) a few weeks later.

  18. IceMuncher says:

    45 means the Heavyweight division stinks in comparison to the other divisions. It’s true. The other divisions are filled with guys that well-rounded, with good striking, good wrestling, and good submissions. In the heavyweight division, it’s rare to find a fighter that’s good in two of those areas. Usually they’re only good in one. And we’re not even talking about the division as a whole, but just the guys in the top 10.

  19. 45 Huddle says:

    Yes it is the best division since Pride back in 2003-2005. And yes, it still stinks. As IceMuncher pointed out, there are massive holes in the fighters abilities even near the top. Compare that to the rest of the sport…

    The rest of the divisions in the sport are really strong right now and filled with well rounded fighters throughout. The only division I rag on is Flyweight, mostly because it looks like children fighting. The Heavyweight Division is filled with 2 different types of athletes:

    1. Oversized Light Heavyweights – Couture, Nogueira, Cro Cop, Overeem, & Emelianenko. I know some people might disagree on one or two of these guys, but if the Heavyweight Division was a stacked division, all of these guys would be permanent Light Heavyweights.

    2. Guys with major holes in their game: Arlovski (Chin), Gonzaga (Cardio), Monson (Striking), Werdum (Striking), Kongo (Takedown Defense), Rogers (Grappling), Velasquez (Lack of Punching Power and Leaves Chin Wide Open), Nelson (Cardio), Rothwell & Sylvia (Awkwardness), & Overeem (Cardio).

    I still get pumped for an occasional Heavyweight fight. I enjoy watching Lesnar fight. I am looking forward to watching Buentello vs. Duffee. But the majority of baseball, basketball, & football are filled with athletes who are over 6’2″, which is the same talent that this division would be drawing from. And it is exactly why the division stinks.

  20. Mark says:

    Another argument from 45 that means nothing. Last year the same thing could have been said about why Randy Couture wasn’t outright stripped of the title and casual fans wanting to know why Nogueira and Mir were fighting for a heavyweight title and Couture and Lesnar were fighting for another heavyweight title. If they can’t figure out after learning just a little bit about MMA outside of the UFC that Fedor Emelianenko is the best HW in the sport, then they’ve got the brainsize of a flea and are hopeless.

    If you think Carwin has more star potential than Rogers something is terribly wrong. I know you’ve gone on record saying Rogers won’t draw on CBS because he’s black when you were defending MMALogic saying it, but he has more charisma in his little finger than Shane Carwin has in his whole dull body. He’s not Rampage or Kimbo, but he can make people care about him. Dana White will have a heart attack if Carwin embarrasses Lesnar because his top draw will need a massive amount of repair work from the fans dying to turn on him anyway. Scott Coker will have a heart attack if Rogers embarrasses Fedor but has a silver lining of being able to make something out of the situation. Paul Buentello would be more accepted by the PPV buying masses than Shane Carwin.

    Is Carwin a better fighter? Maybe. We’ll know for sure next month. Right now Brock Lesnar is right when he says he’s really 1-0. But it’s not the fights that sell the best, it’s the personalities. Brock Lesnar’s fights are never going to win fight of the year by any stretch of the imagination, but because he’s a personality so the public will always care more about him than Fedor. I think it sucks that people are that dense they can’t respect a good fight over a good trash talker, but that’s the way it is.

  21. 45 Huddle says:

    Most people don’t take the time to figure that stuff out. And for the one’s who might, the issue still becomes confusing because a LOT of fans look at the UFC as having all the best fighters and they get confused when somebody who claims to be the best isn’t in there.

    “If you think Carwin has more star potential than Rogers something is terribly wrong.”

    Then there is something wrong with me. But I still stand behind my comment. Carwin is much more marketable. Rogers is a poor interview and doesn’t come across like a star. Carwin doesn’t have the IT factor like Lesnar or Ortiz, but he certainly has much more then Rogers. And it has nothing to do with the color of his skin. Rampage has the IT factor. So does Kimbo, despite having no skills.

    As for the guys who are challenging both Lesnar and Fedor…. Over the last year, we have seen a huge shift in the Heavyweight division. There is a large crop of unproven talent that has the potential to be champions. And they have done so with limited fighting experience. That includes Dos Santos, Velasquez, Carwin, Rogers, and my guess will be Duffee after he KO’s Buentello.

    Yes, they are unproven to some extent, but they are already more worthy then the Kongo’s, Gonzaga’s, or Werdum’s of MMA.

  22. Mark says:

    Yeesh, we’re still running around in circles on the BIG WRESTLERS~! thing. Going on MMA sites is like being in the “Groundhog’s Day” movie.

    Like everybody says to the BIG WRESTLERS~! fanboys millions of times: we don’t know what the UFC’s n00b heavyweights are capable of. Pointing out holes in fighters games to say they suck when you don’t know yet what holes the fighters you’re nuthugging have is ludicrous. Dos Santos has wins over Cro Cop who was going through a nervous breakdown and was washed up to begin with and Werdum who you claim to have no respect for. Cain Velasquez has wins over Jake “The Blanket” O’Brien and Cheick “The King of Inconsistencies” Kongo, which isn’t even midly impressive. Shane Carwin has only one win that matters and I’m still scratching my head on how he’s worthy of a title shot. Let’s see what they can do against Nogueira, Mir, Nelson and Lesnar before we start heralding them as being on the level of PRIDE’s 2003-06 top heavyweights. And even if they do at least 50-50 against them I still wouldn’t go that far for at least another year or so. Because right now I find this heavyweight hyperbole ridiculous. I said I wanted time before I got on the Fedor, Nogueira, Herring bandwagon as being better than the UFC’s late-90s HWs in 2003 as well, so this isn’t just anti-UFC rhetoric for the sake of being anti-UFC.

    And I can’t wait to see Dana’s 360 if/when Fedor finally comes to the UFC. He won’t be able to unzip his ????? to blow him fast enough.

  23. Ivan Trembow says:

    lol, what a carny… already lobbying the media on the rankings, even though he supposedly couldn’t care less about rankings…

  24. smoogy says:

    “They booked Alistair Overeem for a title fight when he was on a one-fight contract, and he absconded with their belt and hasn’t been seen stateside in over two years.\”

    It should be pretty obvious that Strikeforce has changed dramatically since 2007.

    As far as Dana\’s comments? Let\’s face it, the UFC fanboys he is addressing love this kayfabe stuff. They\’re dying for new material to try out on message boards, and Dana is their source. Mr. McWhite can lie to their face on any given topic, and they just applaud him for being such an honest \”straight shooter\”. The cult of personality surrounding him is revolting.

  25. Mark says:

    Above all of that he implied that a 33 year old is too old to be relevant with the “he’s not getting any younger” comment. And, while you can point at 47 year old Randy main eventing to point out the absurdity of that moron, Brock is 32. OMG MAKE SURE HE RETIRES NEXT YEAR DANA!

  26. Alan Conceicao says:

    LOL Okami lost all 3 rounds to Sonnen. Do we have to pretend he should get a title shot now?

  27. Chuck says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Okami got cut because of this loss.

  28. Alan Conceicao says:

    Well, if you lose to Chael Sonnen, let’s be realistic; do you need to be kept around?

  29. Chuck says:

    LOL yeah he did end the Zuffa career of Paulu Filho, and now (potentially) Yushin Okami. Can we just call Chael Sonnen the “Career Killer”?

  30. Alan Conceicao says:

    He’s a great gatekeeper. He’s horribly and intentionally limited and he knows it, but its enough to beat guys like Okami who are limited to the same things (but aren’t as good).

  31. Alan Conceicao says:

    Pat Berry shocks me and actually beats Hardonk. Can’t say I’d be too sad about Antoni heading on out either, frankly.

    Bader’s fight was the one I’m most interested in seeing, actually, so I’m happy I get to see this for nothing.

  32. Chuck says:

    Watching these prelims…..does Semmy Schilt have a younger clone or something? Jesus, how many 6’11 Dutch MMA fighters with short, blonde hair can there be?

  33. Alan Conceicao says:

    Ever go to the Netherlands? There’s plenty of 6’11” dudes period.

    BTW, Ryan Bader still has the physical gifts. One problem; he’s looking to be “exciting” and he doesn’t have the ability to do it without exposing himself badly and gassing. Oh well.

  34. Fluyid says:

    Before the first prelim fight on Spike, did they flash to a huge section of empty seats or am I seeing things?

  35. Fluyid says:

    Oh, and Anderson Silva is looking quite svelte:

    http://www.combatlifestyle.com/pics/albums/102309ufc/1080.jpg

  36. jj says:

    Did I miss something? Where does he say he would consider signing him if he knocks out fedro? I mean, I know he will, but where in the quote does he say it?

  37. Mark says:

    It’s implied. He wants Fedor (who’s #1) but he won’t come to him, but if Rogers beats him and is the #1 HW in the fans’ eyes he’d undoubtedly accept a huge Zuffa payday to leaving Strikeforce as soon as his deal was up.

    Rogers would also probably main event a PPV against Kimbo first. Take that for what it’s worth.

  38. Steve4192 says:

    “Ryan Bader still has the physical gifts. One problem; he’s looking to be “exciting” and he doesn’t have the ability to do it without exposing himself badly and gassing.”

    I don’t think Bader was trying to ‘be exciting’. He knew he was facing a pillow-fisted BJJ expert and wanted to keep the fight standing, where he could he bring his HUGE punching power advantage to bear. He fought a smart fight IMO.

    Also, I don’t really think he exposed a weakness in his cardio. He just exposed his inexperience. He thought he could finish Red in the first and completely emptied his gas tank trying to pound him out rather than pacing himself and saving a little something for the last two rounds.

  39. Dana has only said this to pump some media hype and hopes that he will knock him out. But its the same old story…. who is gonna knock fedor out

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