Here’s the video of last night’s Strikeforce main event on CBS for those of you who, like me, relied on your DVR to record the entirety of last night’s event, only to become enraged when the recording cut out early in the first round.  Or if you just couldn’t tear yourself away from another gripping episode of "America’s Most Wanted," that’s cool too.  Who knows?  One of these days you might see your neighbor on there.  Then won’t you be glad you missed things like awesome fights and the weddings of family members in order to stay home and stare at fugitives on TV.

(The two pictures above contain 246 differences. Can you find them all? Photo courtesy of Esther Lin / Strikeforce)

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Fedor night in America. The Last Emperor show has come to the Chicagoland Area, and his dance partner for this evening will be lead-fisted work-doer Brett "The Grim" Rogers, who’s just itching for a chance to snatch that king spot. Also: MTV personality Jason "Mayhem" Miller fights Jake Shields for Strikeforce’s first middleweight title, large-skulled bruiser Antonio Silva squares off with grappling ace Fabricio Werdum, and Gegard Mousasi will toy with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou for a while before damn near ending his life.

My name is BG, and I’ll be your guide for the evening. I’m currently chillin’ in the press pen at the Sears Centre, and I can already tell you that Fedor’s entrance music will be unbelievably Russian. Live results from the CBS broadcast can be found after the jump, beginning at 8 p.m. CT. Refresh the page every few minutes to get all the latest. Warning: The show may not be broadcast live in your area, so check your local listings before you go running headlong into spoilers.

(Props: shosports via Bloody Elbow)

Behold, the opening video for tonight’s broadcast of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers (CBS, 9 p.m. ET/PT). As Strikeforce doesn’t have the rights to show clips from Emelianenko‘s last two Affliction fights, we have to settle for a montage of Sherdog photos soundtracked by Mauro Ranallo’s high-pitched re-enactments. But we do dig the Citizen Kane-esque shots of Fedor perched in this throne in the middle of a broken-down warehouse. Is Rogers ready to take the crown. Or will his coup attempt end in a humiliating public execution?

Not that it matters much, but Emelianenko/Rogers will in fact be contested for Emelianenko’s WAMMA heavyweight title. Said Vadim Finkelchtein: “Recognizing Fedor as the undisputed WAMMA heavyweight champion means that Fedor is the world champion wherever and whenever he fights.” Suck it, Overeem.

After the jump: Footage from yesterday’s Fedor vs. Rogers weigh-ins, courtesy of MMA Fanhouse.

(Brett Rogers is going to miss this world, and everything in it.)

With Strikeforce on CBS — which we’ll be liveblogging, naturally — just a day away, we put the meager power of our two brains together to see if we can’t figure out a thing or two about what’s going to happen when Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers get their scrap on in Chicago, and what it will all mean once it’s over.

What would Brett Rogers have to do to convince you that he’s the best heayweight in the world?  Is simply winning enough?

BF: No, sad as it is to admit, beating the world’s best heavyweight would not be enough.  If Rogers were to throw one big right hand that knocked Emelianenko out cold and left his entourage of bearded priests and shady hangers-on with their mouths agape, by the time he made it to the post-fight press conference people would already be whispering the dreaded f-word – fluke.  My gut tells me Rogers wouldn’t really give a damn.  He’d take his check and his undefeated record and publicly declare that both us and our rankings can all kiss his ass, and I wouldn’t blame him one bit. 

(Where do you even begin trying to explain this to him? Photo courtesy of M-1Global.com)

It’s one thing for a network executive to sit down with a reporter from an MMA media outlet and say the right things.  We’re not that hard to please, after all, and our expectations are sufficiently low.  Just don’t call it Ultimate Fighting or human cockfighting and we’re generally satisfied.  But what about when they talk to other media outlets, the ones who might be asking them, ‘Seriously, what’s with this Ultimate Fighting stuff you guys are running?’ 

Kelly Kahl of CBS spoke with MarketWatch – the kind of website that follows up mention of any public company with that company’s current stock quote – about the network’s decision to try another go-round with MMA, and Kahl offered an interesting perspective we might not have previously considered.  To hear him tell it, they might as well give it a shot, because young men aren’t watching a lot of CBS on their Saturday nights as it is:

…and Brett Rogers can appreciate an attractive woman. Photo courtesy of the Strikeforce Fedor vs. Rogers: Press Conference Pics set on CombatLifestyle. A few more good ones after the jump.

Do you think there’s any way that Fedor Emelianenko realizes what a sensation his Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory has become on the American MMA scene?  Here he is, a man just trying to stay warm and accentuate his natural contours with some horizontal stripes, and the world (okay, mainly just us, "Mayhem" Miller, and a few other people) is captivated by this signature sweater of his.  I actually hope no one tries to explain it to him.  I’m afraid he might take it the wrong way if he hears that the nice boy with the severe mental disorder who gave him the thumbs up was not entirely sincere.

What’s more, I suspect the ubiquitous sweater might be having an effect on internet oddsmakers.  Since yesterday the odds on Fedor went from an already extreme -500 with most bookmakers, to as high as -550 in some places and -625 in others.  The line on Rogers has also moved, making him slightly greater than a 5-1 underdog with one oddsmaker.  Maybe you ought to hold off on putting money down on "The Grimm."  If Fedor keeps showing up around Chicago in that invincibility cloak of his, Rogers could hit +700 by fight night.

Okay, Dana Jacobson of ESPN.  We know you’re not an MMA reporter, so the sight of Fedor Emelianenko‘s name on the teleprompter was probably pretty jarring.  But seriously?  Umalenenko?  How do you look at a name that starts with an E, contains no U’s, and come up with that?  You didn’t want to maybe ask someone beforehand how it was pronounced?  Brett Rogers was sitting right there, and chances are he’s heard the name enough by now to help you out, even though "The Grimm" is too much of a goddamned gentleman to make you feel bad about it. 

If you saw the "Fight Camp 360" episode, there’s really no new information on Rogers here, but it is interesting to listen to him talk about fighting Fedor as if he is not an extreme underdog.  I can’t decide if he just needs to tell himself that it’s going to be as simple as going in there and banging, or if he truly believes it.  He says he has no other option but to win, and yet almost no one expects him to.  If he does pull it off, could this be the greatest upset in MMA history?

Semi-related: Yeah, Strikeforce and CBS are putting a lot into promoting the Fedor/Rogers bout, and this ESPN appearance is proof of that, but what about the other fights on the card?  That’s exactly what Ariel Helwani and I discussed, among other topics, on this week’s roundtable discussion over at MMA Fanhouse.  Be a doll and check it out, won’t you?

(Props: sports.sho.com)

For Brett Rogers, the challenge on Saturday will be to strip away the myth from Fedor Emelianenko and approach him like he’s any other man. Which he is, of course. Fedor, as we saw last night on Fight Camp 360, is just a guy who loves his family and God, who works out in a community gym alongside schoolchildren, who still lives in the small mining town he grew up in, who enjoys a good oak-twig whipping in a Russian sauna. It’s unnerving how normal Fedor is. His priest/BFF, Father Andrey, says: "You can feel the kindness come out of him, and when you communicate with him, you are being charged by his kindness." Really? Are we talking about the same guy who did this to Gary Goodridge?

(A quick game of rock, scissors, paper to determine who has to sit next to Jerry Millen. Photo courtesy of MixFight.ru.)

If there’s anything the old Gambling Addiction Enabler loves more than placing irresponsible bets on sporting events, it’s placing irresponsible bets on sporting events that are broadcast on network TV.  It has an odd way of making you feel less like a degenerate and more like a regular citizen with a crippling addiction.  It’s like going from drinking malt liquor behind T.J. Maxx to drinking it in a nice, drafty flophouse.  You end up sleeping on broken glass either way, but there’s something that feels so much classier about indoor broken glass, you know?

The best betting odds on the internet come to us courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Fedor Emelianenko (-495) vs. Brett Rogers (+497)
Jake Shields (-266) vs. “Mayhem” Miller (+236)
Gegard Mousasi (-460) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (+393)
Antonio Silva (+156) vs. Fabricio Werdum (-165)

The breakdown…

(Props: sports.sho.com)

With Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers just five days away, Showtime is spreading the word with an episode of their new half-hour hype-series, Fight Camp 360; the Fedor/Rogers installment debuts tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, so set your DVRs now. As you can see from the preview clip above, Emelianenko is being presented as a living embodiment of "fear of the unknown" — an immortal of MMA with no apparent weaknesses — while Brett Rogers is the man of little fear and great faith, who can create his own legend with a win on Saturday.

Fight Camp 360 will take viewers inside the training camps of both fighters, from Fedor’s remote compound in Stary Oskol, to Rogers’s home base in Minnesota. For a better idea of what you’ll be seeing tonight, check out MMA Fanhouse’s detailed recap of the show, and MMA Junkie’s exclusive photo set from Emelianenko’s camp (warning: shirtless Jerry Millen). Replay times are after the jump…

(Props: CP reader John)

As Brett Rogers approaches what could very well be the zenith of his celebrity in the run-up to his fight against Fedor Emelianenko on CBS this weekend, he has decided to do something good with his pre-fight fame by taking a bold stand against dog fighting.  The stilted delivery of these few lines might make you glad that "The Grimm" didn’t get that role as B.A. Baracus after all, but dammit, I dare you to look at an enormous man who is holding an adorable puppy and tell him that his acting sucks.  Ain’t nobody that heartless.

While looking over KnockOutDogFighting.org and seeing the other MMA fighters who have lended their support to this very worthwhile cause (Cung Le, Rob McCullough, Tito Ortiz, and former Rogers/Fedor victim Andrei Arlovski, among others), I couldn’t help but notice that Fedor’s name was conspicuously absent from the list.  Kind of makes you wonder, no?  Why won’t he tell the world how he feels about dog fighting?  What is he hiding!?!  Is it the bloated, scarred pile of dog corpses in his Stary Oskol basement!!!?!??

Call me an alarmist now, but when it’s finally revealed that Fedor draws his strength from the blood of puggles, then we’ll see who looks like the idiot.

(Props: twitpic.com/photos/allelbows)

In an attempt to guard himself from all the stray bullets that continuously fly around Chicago, Fedor Emelianenko once again donned the Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory during an appearance at the Bears/Browns game on Sunday. Emelianenko sustained no bullet wounds, and the Bears won — once again proving the fearsome power of the horizontally-striped invincibility cloak.

Speaking of the Last Emperor, Emelianenko just wrapped up a media conference call with Brett Rogers and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Some highlights, via MMA Fanhouse:

(Props: TSGIGOR via Bloody Elbow)

Like a knight suiting up for battle, Fedor has thrown himself into his latest round of publicity obligations armored in what has become known as The Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory. If you’ll remember, he lit up New York in the horizontally-striped number before his Affliction fight with Andrei Arlovski, and we all know how well that turned out. These photos were taken at a press conference held today somewhere in Russia — we just wanted to clarify that, because there’s an "M-1 Affliction Challenge" logo on the wall, and the word "Strikeforce" is nowhere to be seen. Anyway, Brett Rogers’s loud t-shirt just broke eye contact and pissed itself. Somebody may be paying you to wear that thing, Grim, but we highly doubt it wards off spells from jealous women…

(The latest Fedor/Rogers video promo, courtesy of YouTube.com/CBS. Props to MMA Fanhouse for the tip.)

Just as HBO uses the 24/7 series to plug notable boxing matches, Showtime has launched its own behind-the-scenes hype series with Fight Camp 360, which debuted October 10th with a profile on the Super Six World Boxing Classic. But 360 won’t be limited to just boxing. According to Brett Rogers, Showtime is preparing an episode of the show to promote Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, slated to air about a week before their November 7th fight.

Of course, that event will air on CBS, not Showtime. But Showtime is owned by CBS Corporation, and it’s the network outlet for most of Strikeforce’s events, so it’s in their best interest to pitch in with the promotional effort, which has taken a while to warm up. But hey, better late than never — and it’s great to see MMA fighters start to get the "all-access" treatment before big fights. Though if you’re one of the Showtime video producers who has to fly to Stary Oskol and freeze your ass off while shooting some B-roll of a new swingset being installed at Fedor’s training facility, our condolences…

Thursday we looked at CBS’ first efforts at promoting the November Strikeforce event featuring some bored-looking Russian guy named Fedor.  What that ad failed to mention, however, was that this Fedor character wouldn’t just be hitting tires and scowling at the camera on November 7 — he’d actually be fighting someone.  That someone is none other than Brett Rogers, but could a brother even get a Stephan Quadros quote about how good he is?  Not with Fedor hogging the spotlight, apparently.  Fortunately, there’s the internet, which never forgets anything that happens to anyone, ever.  Above, we start with Rogers’ first pro fight against Chris Clark, who looks suspiciously like D-Lo Brown with dreads.  Don’t worry, this won’t take long.

The journey continues after the jump.

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Here we are, three weeks away from the big Fedor Emelianenko-Brett Rogers Strikeforce fight in Chicago, and CBS is starting to put some of its promotional muscle behind the event.  But here’s the problem: how do you hype a guy who most Americans have never heard of when he doesn’t speak much English and you don’t own any of his fight footage?  You basically have two choices: you can show him working out while flashing various quotes about how great he is, or you can film a commercial where he fights an entire pride of lions in the big cement pit behind Vadim Finkelchtein’s house.  For reasons that I’ll never quite understand, CBS has decided to go with the first option.  Whatever.  They’re the ones who’ll have to live with that regret.

(It’s not a damn library, Mayhem. For the last time, buy something or get out.)

Strikeforce put Jake Shields and “Mayhem” Miller on a media conference call today in order to get one thing straight: you’d have to be a real jerk to miss their fight on the Nov. 7 Chicago event on CBS.  Okay, so they didn’t word it exactly like that, but Miller came close, saying that he can’t be blamed if MMA fans don’t watch because, “I’m Twittering, MySpacing and Facebooking. I’m out there. I might as well be spray painting about it on walls.”  When reached for comment about that last remark, Jeff Monson issued a prolonged, cold stare before slowly shaking his head and then disappearing into the night. 

This card also has that whole Fedor Emelianenko/Brett Rogers thing going on, but Strikeforce is drawing the heat where it can for right now.  Something about Fedor’s blank facial expressions and cryptic Russian phrases don’t translate well on conference calls, and Rogers is most likely trying not to give away any more vital parts of his game plan.  Instead, Scott Coker had to answer some hard questions about what’s going on with Strikeforce’s contracts, particularly with their champions (looking at you, Overeem).

(Overeem’s last Strikeforce appearance, vs. Paul Buentello on 11/16/07.)

It’s no secret that Alistair Overeem isn’t exactly eager to come back to the U.S. to defend the Strikeforce heavyweight title that he won and then absconded to Europe with almost two years ago, but hey, maybe Brett Rogers’ recent shucking and ducking accusations might be enough to get him to consider putting that belt up for grabs again, right?  Wrong, sucka.  Very, very wrong.  Not only is Overeem not even going to respond to Rogers (sounds like someone else we know), he lets us all know straight up that fighting in Strikeforce is at the very bottom of his to-do list right now: 

During the press conference you said you will not comment on Brett Rogers words, but I need to ask again. This doesn’t bother you? Him talking the smack on the internet about you and how you’re not defending your Strikeforce title? 

I will not comment on this, I am very busy with K-1 right now, with all the fight I have there. When there will be time to meet in the ring he will see. For now, I will not comment. I am very busy these days, i have a fight in Glory, then in DREAM.12 and after that I’ll fight in the K-1 Finals so I am very busy with training and fighting and I don’t have time for this bullshit.

First of all, if you have time to give interviews where you talk about how you’re not going to talk about something, then you have time to issue a response.  I mean, if you really wanted to.  Second, and most importantly, Overeem’s list of upcoming engagements makes it very clear that Strikeforce is the least important obligation on his dance card, which ought to be just plain embarrassing for Scott Coker and the boys.  Like cleaning out the garage, he keeps saying he’ll get to it eventually.  And yet he makes no movement whatsoever to put his shoes on and get to work.

(‘And now I join you in holy matrimony, for better or for worse, until one of you starves or is eaten by wolves.’)

Here’s how unconcerned Fedor Emelianenko is about fighting Brett Rogers on Strikeforce’s November 7 show on CBS: instead of training his ass off with a single-minded focus on destruction, he took some time out to get married this weekend.  Fedor took the plunge for the second time in his life (his first marriage ended in 2006), and he did it in a Russian Orthodox ceremony which involves a lot of awesome symbolism, such as being crowned the king of your own home.  The typical Orthodox wedding also usually involves a couple days worth of celebrating, but we’re hoping that Fedor postponed that, along with the honeymoon, so he could be back hitting tires with sledgehammers and sparring in public parks by Monday morning.

Seriously, it’s great that Fedor has entered once again into wedded bliss, and we’re very happy for him, but couldn’t this have waited until after the Rogers fight?  Judging by the pictures, his bride wasn’t eight months pregnant, so they could have conceivably put it off until after the fight if they wanted to.  At this point we have to assume that Fedor knows how to prepare for a fight, but these distractions are starting to take on a little bit of a “Rocky III” kind of feel, and – we’re just putting it out there – Brett Rogers and Clubber Lang have very similar haircuts.

In other Emelianenko family news…

Watch more Asylum videos on AOL Video

According to undefeated Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers in the above video, you can usually tell how a fight is going to go down by the pre-fight faceoff. And so, three brave online editors decided to test their staredown might against the Grim, with decidedly mixed results. First up is cherubic Asylum.com writer Jordan Newmark, who nearly poops his suit-pants when Rogers penetrates deeply into his soul. But in round two, Asylum editor Jake Goodrich holds his ground despite his significant height disadvantage. (Jake was also standing on a milk crate when this was filmed.) And finally, Lemondrop.com editor Laura Gilbert evens the score with a set of Manson lamps that earns Brett’s full respect and discomfort. Also worth watching: Jordan asks Fedor Emelianenko what he really thought of Rocky IV.

(In Russia, we don’t train with heavy bags, just gypsys. Photo courtesy of CanvasChronicle.)

As first reported by MMA Weekly, Strikeforce’s upcoming CBS event on November 7th will go down at the Sears Centre Arena, an 11,000-seat venue in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, near Chicago. Tickets for the event, which start at $35 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster and Strikeforce.com, go on sale to the general public this coming Monday at 10 a.m. CT. Besides the heavyweight headliner of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers, the show will feature Jason Miller and Jake Shields fighting for Strikeforce’s newly-vacant middleweight title; Gegard Mousasi and Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos are also rumored to appear, against opponents to be named later.

In other Strikeforce news, Kim Couture and Kerry Vera have agreed to meet in a 135-pound bout at a proposed Strikeforce Challengers event on November 20th. Couture is 1-1 in professional MMA, and hasn’t competed since her first-round TKO win over a befuddled Lina Kvokov last November. Vera, who previously competed as a kickboxer and won the 2007 season of Fight Girls, won her MMA debut via unanimous decision over Leslie Smith at a Bellator event in May. Kim’s soon-to-be-ex-husband Randy and Kerry’s husband Brandon, are scheduled to fight one week earlier at UFC 105.

(Props: shosports)

According to a press release just sent out by Strikeforce, Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers will face each other on Saturday, November 7th, in a Strikeforce event that will be broadcast on CBS (9:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT). It was previously announced that the matchup would air on Showtime, which explains some of Strikeforce’s quietness over the last couple weeks — they were working out the details on this surprising change of plans. Now, Dana White won’t be able to crow about how his reruns outdraw Strikeforce’s live fights, and he probably won’t risk defeat by counter-programming Strikeforce with a live UFC event, especially considering the UFC already has events scheduled for the following two weekends.

("I must break you. Right after I get a few more of those doughnuts." Photo courtesy of ShoSports.)

Brett "The Grim" Rogers on his upcoming matchup with Fedor Emelianenko:

"I feel that I’m a different fighter for Fedor; Fedor hasn’t felt the power that he’s about to get. You see what I mean? It’s definitely gonna be a fun fight, man. He’s talented, but the same things he’s skilled in, I’m skilled in.* It’s just we just gonna see who’s more hungry.**

Basically, a fighter for his size, his weight, just the way his aggression, when he takes top he’s good at controlling the top position. So, I’ve been trying to work with guys that can kinda mock him***; he may have that, a couple pounds less than me… But if he’s expecting to take top, and hold top, it’s not gonna happen.**** I’m definitely gonna re-position myself whenever I get in danger and hopefully get back to the feet and finish it off." —

* Seriously, Brett? Are you really suggesting that you can draw as well as the Last Emperor?

** You mean who’s literally more hungry? Because you both come across as very hungry people. Big eaters, is all I’m saying. Come to think of it, a pie-eating contest between the two of you would probably be a lot more competitive than a cage-fight.

*** There’s only one guy who could possibly take on that job.

**** It might happen. It’s probably going to happen.

(Props: M1mixfight via MiddleEasy)

…and as you can see, the size difference is positively Couture/Lesnar-esque. Not that a size advantage helped Tim Sylvia against Fedor last July, but then again Sylvia is a clumsy oaf with doo-doo in his pants, and the Grim is an undefeated head-bussa with Ambien in his fists. Still no word on exactly when the Emelianenko/Rogers fight will go down, but the Strikeforce/M-1 crew is getting a head-start on filming promos for it, and arranged this face-off yesterday in New York. As for the Grim, he knows he’ll be The Man if he manages to score an upset against Fedor, telling MMA Fanhouse:

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Fedor Emelianenko doesn’t talk trash about his opponents, and he won’t be starting now. After his autograph session yesterday afternoon, Fedor told Ariel Helwani that he sees Brett Rogers as a great opponent with "very heavy knockout punch." And he doesn’t even get pissed off when Ariel brings up the argument that he signed with Strikeforce to duck the top competition in the UFC: "I do not read all the rumors and gossips which they publish on the Internet, but to tell the truth, the offer of the UFC was really not the worthy one, and if they are able to give us really good offer, we definitely would agree." Finally, Fedor rejects the notion that he has anything to prove against Rogers.

As for the Grim? He’s just enjoying the ride…

Fedor Emelianenko Open Workout in NYC – Watch more Funny Videos

As mentioned earlier, Fedor Emelianenko visited Fighthouse Gym in New York City today to hit pads for a few minutes and sign autographs for fans. The open-workout portion of the appearance was very brief: Fedor fired some punches at Fighthouse’s resident Muay Thai pro Brandon Levi, struggled with a bizarre piece of training equipment called a "jump rope," then threw more punches at a heavy bag before deciding to give it a rest and set up shop at a signing table. Video of the action is above.

Before the workout, Emelianenko took questions from the press in attendance. Some highlights, via his interpreter…

(Photo courtesy of MMA Mania.)

Getting knocked out in two consecutive high-profile fights has to be a devastating blow to a fighter’s confidence. And the idea of Tim Sylvia banging your ex-girlfriend, sure, that would make anybody want to throw up until they died. But we weren’t expecting this troubling bit of news from a fighters.com article posted yesterday:

(Image courtesy of Strikeforce.)

Now that Strikeforce has landed the greatest heavyweight in the world, they have to make sure that casual American fans care. To that end, Fedor Emelianenko may spend the first two fights of his initial three-fight deal with Strikeforce building his name before fighting for the organization’s heavyweight strap. According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on yesterday’s edition of TapouT Radio (via FiveOuncesofPain):

(Afterwards, Emelianenko personally invited Rogers to Stary Oskol for a tour of his playground training facility followed by a private meatloaf-eating contest. Props: sports.sho.com)

For a brief moment last week, it seemed like Brett Rogers had a decent shot at replacing Josh Barnett in the main event of Affliction: Trilogy (R.I.P.). Fedor wanted it, the fans wanted it (at least more than they wanted to see Emelianenko take on middleweight Vitor Belfort), and hey, at least it would be better than canceling the event altogether, right? Then, the rug was pulled out from everyone’s feet. Team Bison owner/head trainer Mike Reilly made a long post on FiveOuncesofPain over the weekend to answer questions and explain the Grim’s role in the behind-the-scenes negotiations. Some highlights…

On how Rogers first came up as a possible replacement: "We never asked to fight Fedor. We are under contract with Strikeforce and happy to be [with] Strikeforce. We have not sought any bouts outside of Strikeforce. We were however approached to fight Fedor by Affliction. Of course we agreed to the fight immediately provided all the details could be worked out among the many parties involved."

On Fedor: "He is the unqualified best in the game. The quintessential fighter. Accepting a fight against him on nine days notice may seem foolish or simply a money move; but it is not. The bottom line is you never know when, or if you will get another chance. Brett is not in this game to be good, he is not in it to be great; his goal is to be the best. How, as a fighter, could he have turned down the possibility of taking his greatest test? No chance he walks away from that opportunity. When Fedor mentioned Brett by name as the replacement he wanted we were very honored."