As you know, this will be Emelianenko's first match in a cage. Will this have a significant impact on the outcome? I have read that the cage does not have corners where Fedor can trap an opponent, which is true, but the ring also does not have a fence which he can trap opponents against.

I have also read that Emelianenko will be handicapped because he is not used to fighting with elbow strikes allowed on the ground. But it seems to me that he is perfectly capable of using his elbows and of training for this aspect of the Rogers fight.

It's pretty likely that he's training in a cage, too. Do you think these changes of setting and rules will be important in this match?

I have also read that Emelianenko will be handicapped because he is not used to fighting with elbow strikes allowed on the ground. But it seems to me that he is perfectly capable of using his elbows and of training for this aspect of the Rogers fight.


Are you kidding me, Fedor was in Prid3

I do realize elbow's were illegal in pride, but i hardly consider that a handicap.

the handicap isn't that he couldn't use his elbows on the ground. The handicap is that he never had to worry about being elbowed on the ground. That's a huge difference. You don't have to posture up nearly as far to effectively use elbows. It changes how someone defends strikes on the ground a lot. Do I think it will cost him this fight? Hell no.

I doubt the elbow thing will be a game changer either, but Fedor does have a propensity to get badly cut though.

I really don't think elbows, on Fedor's side, will be much of a problem, if he uses them at all. His particular style of GnP doesn't seem suited for the use of elbows. It may very well be an issue if he's on the receiving end, however, as he's been prone to cut rather easily in the past.

As for the use of corners, I may very well be wrong, but Fedor hasn't cornered that many people in his fighting career. Of all his matches the one's that come to mind where he's trapped someone against the ropes "near" the corner - not actually "in" the corner - are the second fight against Coleman and Babalu's. He could very well trap an opponent against the fence in the cage.

I can't really think of anything Rogers might exploit against Fedor, as he's not as technical a striker as Arlovski was against Fedor - the only recent fighter to have given the man any sort of trouble, though he really didn't catch him - and this man's chin has been shown to withstand some punishment. Styles, afterall, make fights.

Roger's best and perhaps only chance is to keep it standing by being the aggressor and pushing the pace, but I wonder if he'll be able to keep it so, as Fedor could easily take him down, trip him or flip him, where it is the general consensus that Rogers would be at the greatest disadvantage.

In any case, I'm just happy I get to see Fedor fight again even if it's not where I'd like him to be.

Rogers is huge, and will probably be the strongest athlete Fedor's fought in a long time (Barnett would have been too, but we all saw how that turned out). I don't know if Rogers will ever get Fedor on hi back to throw elbows, but the dude hits hard and might be able to use his strength to muscle out of the clinch.

I don't know that Rogers is fast enough to deal with Fedor. This could be a quick fight.

I suspect Fedor would get rocked like in the Fujita fight, then pull some miracle off like he always does.

edit:

YouTube - Dolemite starring Brett Rogers and Fedor Emelianenko (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJgiyHBn7FM)

I doubt Fedor will be on the bottom if the fight goes to the ground, so elbows aren't really a problem. Also the cage probably won't be a problem either, given that Rogers is probably going to try to avoid the clinch (if he's smart at least).

Fedor gets the KO in less than 40 seconds.

I think Fedors best days are behind him, but I believe he can handle Rogers.

Rogers is huge, and will probably be the strongest athlete Fedor's fought in a long time (Barnett would have been too, but we all saw how that turned out). I don't know if Rogers will ever get Fedor on hi back to throw elbows, but the dude hits hard and might be able to use his strength to muscle out of the clinch.

Is this a joke? Sylvia is bigger than Rogers and Hong Man Choi´s **** probably weights more than Roger.

Sylvia and Choi were both larger, but I'm pretty sure Rogers is stronger and more athletic than them. Also, Choi's never been a very skilled fighter, whereas Rogers has been knocking people out left and right.