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Shad
November 2, 2009

This Saturday, 7 November will see WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko fight Brett Rogers in his first Strikeforce appearance. BetUS has odds.

Fedor Emelianenko has regularly placed at the top of pound-for-pound lists ever since his days fighting in Pride. It’s understandable, as Fedor is essentially undefeated, with a record that includes wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipovic, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, and many other high quality heavyweights. His only recorded loss is due to an illegal elbow that cut him open, in a tournament format that did not allow for No Contests. BetUS has the fight in Fedor’s favor at odds of -500 for Fedor compared to Brett Rogers at +350.

Brett Rogers has an undefeated record at 10 fights, including a 0:22 second win against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. All of his fights have been stopped inside the distance, every one ended with strikes, and he’s only ever gone to the second round. Fedor will be the toughest challenge he has faced, though, so he will need to have prepared to go the distance and his ground fighting skills will almost certainly be put to the test.

There are plenty of other interesting fights on this card, including one between Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller and Jake Shields. Currently on a 12 fight win streak, it is unsurprising that Shields is favorite to win at -300 to Miller at +220. Mayhem is well known for his Bully Beatdown show and upcoming appearance in EA MMA, but his record isn’t the most impressive. This fight is for the Strikeforce middleweight belt, and a good outcome for Miller would probably be great for Strikeforce and MMA in general, but it doesn’t seem likely given Shields’ winning ways in recent years.

An unusual match-up is Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. At BetUS, the fight has odd of -500 for Mousasi and +350 for Sokoudjou. Strangely, this will be a non-title fight, so Mousasi need only worry about defending his current 13 fight win streak. Sokoudjou got a lot of attention in his early days, but he has not performed to a particularly high standard since then. With a record of 7-4, including a loss to Mousasi’s last opponent Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, it seems incredibly unlikely that Sokoudjou can avoid another loss and finally get a win streak of more than two on his record.

The last main card fight at this event is a heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva. BetUS has the fight at -165 Werdum and +135 Silva, which seems slightly unfair to Silva. While Werdum has a good reputation and wins over Brandon Vera, Alistair Overeem, and Aleksander Emelianenko, he has failed to overcome many of his biggest challenges. Losses to Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Junior dos Santos are nothing to be ashamed of, but they do suggest a middle tier fighter rather than a dominant upper echelons combatant. Having said that, Werdum should be Silva’s biggest test yet, and a win here could definitely help him regain career momentum after the California State Athletic Commission’s suspension due to testing positive for steroids.

If you would like to bet on these Strikeforce fights, be sure to join BetUS and take advantage of its 50% welcome bonus on the first and second deposits of new members. This could be one of the most exciting cards that Strikeforce has ever held, and you’ll feel more a part of it by placing a bet or two at BetUS.