Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers
Josh Barnett (29-5)
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 250 pounds
Wins: 7 knockouts, 17 submissions, 4 decision, 1 disqualification
Losses: 1 knockouts, 2 submissions, 2 decisions
Brett Rogers (11-2)
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 265 pounds
Wins: 10 knockouts, 0 submissions, 1 decision
Losses: 2 knockouts, 0 submissions, 0 decisions
Fight Information:
The first of two Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinals fights will feature former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett as he fights Brett “Da Grim” Rogers.
Barnett has been listed as a fairly significant betting favorite in this fight and, really, it’s hard to argue with that. At 29-5, Barnett had already been fighting seemingly forever while Rogers was still working retail up in Minnesota. His well-rounded skill set makes him a dangerous opponent for anyone in the world and he has the track record to prove it.
On the other side, Brett Rogers is still a relatively inexperienced fighter who is looking to shock the world once again with a big victory. Rogers first made a splash by crushing then-top-five-ranked heavyweight Andrei Arlovski in just 22 seconds back in 2009. He then took an undefeated record into a fight with the world’s top-ranked heavyweight
Fedor Emelianenko.
Though Rogers was eventually knocked out by Fedor, his performance shocked many fans who expected the bout to be a completely one-sided beatdown. It ended up that Rogers landed quite a few shots and scuffed up Emelianenko pretty well before catching a thunderous punch to the jaw.
Rogers then lost a decisive first round knockout to Alistair Overeem before getting back in the win column by defeating Ruben Villreal last October.
Fight Prediction:
Josh Barnett is one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time and it’s really hard to go against him given the obvious skills he has displayed throughout his career. But I also believe that Brett Rogers’ skills are being heavily overlooked going into this fight.
No, he’s not likely to throw up a gogoplata and submit Barnett, but there seems to be this perception that Rogers has absolutely no ground game, despite there never being any evidence to that point in any of his fights. No, he hasn’t attempted to bring fights to the ground, but considering the power he possesses in his hands, why would he?
Rogers displayed surprising skills off of his back in the fight with Fedor which are being completely neglected by the experts who are predicting Barnett in an easy submission victory.
Barnett may very well win the fight, but I don’t expect it to be anywhere near as one-sided as some are assuming it will be. In fact, I believe that Rogers will surprise a lot of people when he lands a big punch that hurts Barnett, which he will then capitalize on, finishing the fight by ground-and-pound in the second round.
Brett Rogers by knockout, Round 2