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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem will put his belt on the line for the first time since capturing it in 2007 when he faces Brett Rogers on May 15th in St. Louis. Overeem confirmed the fight on Monday with MMAJunkie.com, but at the time stated he wasn't sure if his Title would be on the line or not.
Well that information was confirmed on Tuesday by Strikeforce Commentator Mauro Ranallo on The Fight Show with Mauro Ranallo, who, after getting more comments from Overeem, stated that the belt would be on the line.
He also addressed the questions about Rogers getting a Title shot after being beaten in his last outing by Fedor Emelianenko, saying ""Well I know what you're asking yourself. 'Wait a minute, didn't Brett Rogers lose his last outing against Fedor Emelianenko and now he's fighting for the title?' Well that appears to be the case, and one of the reasons of course is what we alluded to with Kelly Kahl, the status of Fedor Emelianenko with Strikeforce. We know there have been issues going on with Emelianenko's promoter M-1 Global. The relationship with Strikeforce said to be maybe not as rock solid as it would appear but when reached for comment the source at Strikeforce said 'no comment' but hopefully some things will be cleared up in the near future."
Fedor and M-1 Global are reportedly unhappy with Strikeforce due to Strikeforce apparently not upholding their portion of what M-1 Global believed would be their co-promotional relationship. A report from HeadkickLegend.com, citing M-1 Global sources, states that Fedor won't see the inside of a Strikeforce cage without a new contract, as they are looking for a "partner and to have Strikeforce cards featuring Fedor to be fully co-promoted cards."
Whether Fedor fights on this May 15th card against Fabricio Werdum is up in the air at this point, but with Rogers vs. Overeem set as a Title bout, St. Louis likely has its main event.
Penick's Analysis: While the argument is valid that Rogers shouldn't be getting a Title shot coming off the loss to Fedor, if they're going to have this fight between him and Overeem this is the best way to do it. The Strikeforce Heavyweight Title can't be demeaned at this point because it has essentially been non-existent with Overeem not defending it in two and a half years. Besides, M-1 Global has also said that Titles don't mean anything to Fedor and they equated them to medals, so he's above the Strikeforce Title in their minds. Were this fight to go on as a non-title bout they would have risked Overeem losing with the belt not on the line and their Title meaning even less than it does right now. If Rogers wins they can promote a rematch with Fedor with the Title on the line, and if Overeem retains they've got that bout still alive later on for Strikeforce. Either way the St. Louis fans are in for quite a show on May 15th.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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