Strikeforce heavyweight hopeful Brett Rogers makes the last stop on his whirlwind PR tour for "Fedor vs. Rogers" when he appears in a pre-taped interview late Friday night on Carson Daly's "Last Call" on NBC.
The late-night show airs at 1:35 a.m. EST/PST and 12:35 Central and Mountain time.
Rogers will discuss his fight career as well as his upbringing in the Cabrini Green projects of Chicago's north side.
On Saturday, the undefeated heavyweight faces the world's most feared heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, in a headling bout at the Sears Centre Arena in suburban Chicago. Strikeforce CEO says the event is on track to sell out, with just under 10,000 seats sold.
HDNet's "Inside MMA" will provide LIVE, exclusive coverage of the weigh-ins for "STRIKEFORCE: Fedor vs. Rogers," Friday, November 6 at 6:00 pm ET. The special 90-minute edition of "Inside MMA" will provide a first look at the undisputed No. 1 Heavyweight in the world - Fedor Emelianenko, as he hits the scale the night before his network television debut on CBS.
In addition to Fedor, many of the top mixed martial artists in the world including Brett Rogers, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Jake Shields, and Gegard Mousasi will step onto the scale and then step into Kruck's Korner during the LIVE broadcast. Heavyweight sensation Bobby Lashley, "King" Mo Lawal, and MMA legend Frank Shamrock are expected to join Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten to break down the card and to witness the excitement of weigh-in Friday.
"Friday weigh-ins are closely watched by MMA insiders because they often reveal who is ready to fight... and who isn't," said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. "Then, on Saturday's CBS broadcast, we will debut a new commercial that will drive home the message that true MMA fans have to have HDNet."
This episode of "Inside MMA" is the only place to see highlights of some of Fedor's most recent, explosive victories including Fedor v Hong Man Choi, Fedor v Arlovski, Fedor v. Tim Sylvia and Fedor's exhibitions with Gegard Mousasi and Shinya Aoki.
Brett Rogers was on ESPN's First Take on Wednesday to talk about his dream moving from a job at Sam's Club to fighting the number one heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers on Saturday night on CBS.
On a media teleconference Monday promoting Strikeforce's CBS network debut, CEO Scott Coker said ticket sales are brisk.
So far, the 12,000-seat Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. is 85% percent sold for the Nov. 7 event, Coker said.
"I would expect us to be totally sold out by Saturday," he added.
Coker said CBS was doing a good job at promoting the event and exposing it to new audiences, but ultimately, Emelianenko's status as the number one heavyweight was the primary selling point.
If Coker had one gripe, it would be his wish that Emelianenko was local.
"If Fedor was living in America, we'd take him on a lot more shows, but that's not the case," he said. "He's here now and we're going to make the best of it for the rest of the week."
For naysayers who believed Strikeforce was a flash in the pan, Coker said comparisons to other failed MMA companies wasn't fair.
"I don’t think it’s justice, because these other companies, that wasn’t their core business," he said. "We're not a t-shirt company, we're not a comic book company, we're not a gambling company. This is our core competency and this is what we’ve been doing for over two decades now. To take it to this level, we're very proud and honored to have Fedor fight and do the co-promotion with M-1 and be on CBS."
Coker will soon leave San Jose, Calif for Chicago to begin the final stages of promoting the event.
MMA heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers take in the Chicago Bears vs. Cleveland Browns football game on Sunday, November 1 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill. Fedor and Rogers will square off against one another at the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Ill. for "Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rogers" on Saturday, Nov 7 (9:00PM, Live ET / delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.
In what can only be described as a "Night of Upsets," 8,867 fans were in attendance at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis to witness the shocking turn of events.
The biggest shocker of the night had to be Brett Rogers' amazing knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Andei Arlovski. Rogers unleashed a flurry of hooks that put Arlovski in a heap on the floor.
No less surprising was the finish to the 182-pound catchweight main event between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields. For two minutes, Shields looked like a fish out of water, unable to take Lawler down and struggling to find his rhythm on the feet. But in an instant, he rushed Lawler and secureed a fight-ending guillotine choke.
A preview of Friday night's Inside MMA on HDNet has Andrei Arlovski talking about his upcoming fight with Brett Rogers at the June 6 Strikeforce event in St. Louis.
News of a heavyweight match-up between Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers arrived at Tuesday's press conference for Strikeforce: Shields vs. Lawler in St. Louis, quashing reports that Rogers would face heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on the event's main card.
Strikeforce Director of Public Relations Mike Afromowitz told MMAWeekly.com that the bout had been close to finalized, but a hand injury to Overeem scuttled its possibility.
Afromowitz says the Dutch heavyweight will likely return this summer, likely in August. The promotion is taking a much-needed break in July.
Overeem fought last November in his home country, taking out Gary Goodridge by submission.
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