Breaking Down Werdum Vs Overeem: Josh Barnett Vs Brett Rogers

Added on Jun 15, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

The second half of the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix takes place this Saturday night in Dallas Texas, and we are going to see 2 guys we haven’t seen in a while. Josh Barnett is facing Brett Rogers, and both fighters have questions surrounding them.

Josh Barnett

Odds: -500

Reach: 76 inches

Record: 29-5

Last 5: 5-0

Streak: +6

Brett Rogers

Odds: +300

Reach: 81.5 inches

Record: 11-2

Last 5: 3-2

Streak: +1

A few of the questions surrounding Barnett have already been answered as some people thought he wouldn’t even get licensed. To his credit, he has been licensed by the state of Texas and passed a drug screen in order to get it (per Susan Stanford from the Texas athletic commission.) With his positive drug tests behind him, he finds himself in a position to shut up a lot of critics. If Barnett finds away to win the Heavyweight Grand Prix he will have successfully built his career back up. The once UFC Heavyweight Champion will have completed a huge metamorphosis if he makes a showing in the tournament. Many people forget about the ground game of Josh Barnett as he has won some of the largest grappling tournaments on the planet. With 7 TKO/KO’s to his credit, Rogers has more than one thing to worry about.

Brett Rogers was a relative unknown when he fought Andrei Arlovski, and after his KO victory his career to took a turn for the better and for the worse. The win catapulted him to the top of the division, and he found himself facing Fedor Emelianenko. Brett suffered the first loss of his career, and even though he lost, he found himself in a championship fight Allistair Overeem. After suffering his second loss, Rogers took a fight many people haven’t seen, where he won via Unanimous Decision over Ruben Villareal. Rogers went 10-0 in first 10 fights, and won them all via KO or TKO, and none of them saw the 3^rd round. If Brett Rogers wins this fight it will be with his hands, and his chances improve when you notice he has a significant reach over Barnett.

We haven’t seen Barnett in a year, but he has a huge experience advantage over Rogers. Barnett has been a champion, he has fought all over the planet, and the pressure of a fight this big is something he has already overcome. When Rogers has faced huge challenges he has fell short. When it all comes down to it, Josh Barnett has more ways to win. He has the ability to knock out Brett Rogers, but he also has the ability to take him down and submit him. To me this relegates Rogers’ chances to a punchers chance. I see Josh Barnett landing something on Rogers early, and I think Barnett will grab a hold of a limb and get the submission.