The first man to make it into the second round with Fedor Emelianenko since Mark Coleman back in 2006, Brett Rogers has taught himself about the dangers of being drawn the mystique of his opponents.
Now facing Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem, Rogers isn't intimidated by Overeem’s physique or his record which includes three MMA wins in 2009 and going 3-2 in K-1 kickboxing in 2009 and early 2010.
Of his first meeting with Rogers six years ago, coach Mike Reilly shares his reaction, “The first time I saw him, he was getting out of his car, walking up my driveway -- I was thinking ‘God I hope I don’t owe this guy money!’”
Their meeting was the beginning of something special after Rogers told Reilly he wanted to learn how to fight and started training out of Reilly’s four-car garage. Whether working at that time in the improvised gym or currently being housed at the modern facilities of Ambition MMA in Minnesota, Rogers’ intelligence, athleticism and adaptability has marked his rise as a fighter.
Not only does he hold the distinction of being the first MMA fighter, along with then opponent Jon Murphy, to appear in a fight on live network television through the EliteXC/CBS promotion in May 2008, but he earned respect when he saw through the Kimbo Slice charade and later called Slice out at the same event’s postfight press conference.
“It was one of those things where we were on the same fight card at the time, and I was frustrated about always being placed on the backburner,” says Rogers of the Slice altercation. “We had our words, and that was it.”
Rogers understands how Slice’s street credibility helped market him regardless of his performance as a professional fighter, “No matter what losses he has, he’s going to get that ‘badass’ credit just because he looks like one, and he was one on the street.”
If an opponent comes into the cage with legit achievements, Rogers recognizes them. When Andrei Arlovski was touted as an opponent, he was excited by the step up in class, “He was two-time champion in the UFC; I was like ‘Bring it!’”
The superficiality of media appearances belied another truth to the charming Belarusian, “When I met him, he was kind of an (expletive). That kind of motivated me that much more to go out there and knock him out.”
With a perfect record of 10 wins and 10 knockouts, Rogers was very underrated before facing consensus pound-for-pound No. 1 heavyweight Emelianenko in November 2009.
“Fedor’s a real complex dude. He’s real nice, that kind of threw me off a little bit,” says Rogers. “He’s a veteran, so he knows how to read a person.”
Reilly was dumbfounded with the idea floating around that Fedor would simply take Rogers down and submit him. Despite losing to Fedor via second round knockout, Rogers' size and strength posed serious problems to the Russian -- enough to give Rogers the confidence to want a second shot at him. But first, he must spoil Strikeforce’s plans for an Overeem-Emelianenko matchup by beating Overeem Saturday.
Although Reilly has respect for Overeem, noting his dangerous arsenal of weapons, he wants Rogers to see the vulnerability in his opponent: “Going out there, you’re fighting a mortal man. I think with Overeem, we’re fighting a very mortal man.”
Growing recognition for Rogers hasn’t been all positive. The acclaim garnered by Rogers has also attracted negative elements, including those who would have you believe they are solely responsible for Rogers’ achievements when they have little or no involvement with Rogers training.
“As soon as you have success, everyone tries to grab onto it, people take credit for it,” says Reilly, “There is one guy who can take credit for Brett Rogers' success -- and his name is Brett Rogers.”
There’s no mistaking the humility that backs Rogers’ talent in the cage. He’s amassed a growing collection of fans that see him as the embodiment of an idea that has fallen on hard times along with the faltering U.S. economy.
Concludes Reilly, “People want to see him win, because he is the American Dream.”
