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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief Andrei Arlovski returns to MMA action this June for the first time since a loss to Fedor Emelianenko in January in the Affliction: Day of Reckoning main event. According to multiple reports, Strikeforce announced today at a press conference for their June 6th event that Arlovski will face the up and coming heavyweight phenom Brett Rogers in the co-main event of the second Strikeforce on Showtime card.
Rogers, now 9-0 in his professional career, has only gone out of the first round once in his nine fights. With eight knockouts to his credit and a submission to boot, he's quickly risen up the ranks with high profile appearances on CBS and Showtime with EliteXC and Strikeforce. He's going to get his first crack at top flight heavyweight talent against Arlosvski on June 6th.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion is still one of the top heavyweights in the world, despite the loss to Fedor in January. In fact, before an ill-advised attempt at a flying knee late in the first round of that fight Arlosvki was giving Fedor all he could handle. He'll look to establish himself as a top player in Strikeforce's heavyweight division.
Headlined by a catchweight bout between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields, the June 6th Strikeforce on Showtime event is starting to shape up very nicely, as it also includes a bout between Scott Smith and Nick Diaz. Tune into Showtime on June 6th for more Strikeforce action.
Penick's Analysis: I love this fight. Rogers has torn through the lower and mid level talent he's faced, and he's got an extremely strong punch, so this should be set up for a war with Arlovski. Andrei's boxing skills are still top notch as far as MMA fighters go, and have no doubt about it he's still as dangerous as ever. Outside of a fight with Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem or a rematch with Fedor, Rogers may be the toughest test there is for Arlovski at this point. We'll find out quickly in this one two things: a) how much Arlovski's got left in the tank and b) whether or not Brett Rogers is the real deal. This should be a fantastic heavyweight brawl to compliment two other really good catchweight fights.
[Arlovski Art Credit - Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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