The bout capped off the promotion’s first CBS-televised event, which took place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois just outside Chicago.

Rogers opened up a gash on Fedor’s nose with his first punch of the fight, but Emelianenko recovered to batter Rogers with punches throughout the round and also attempted several submissions, but was unable to earn the stoppage in the first.

The pair clinched to start the second but separated and squared off in the center of the cage, where Fedor dropped Rogers with an overhand right and forced the referee, “Big” John McCarthy, to intervene after several follow-up punches on the ground.

Fedor improves to 31-1 with the victory, extending his winning streak to 27-straight, while Rogers falls to 10-1 after suffering the first loss of his career.

After the bout, both Emelianenko and Rogers said they were open to a rematch, though both will almost certainly take on other opponents first. Fabricio Werdum, who won a hard-fought decision over Antonio Silva earlier on the card, and Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem could be next in line for Fedor, while Silva is among the possibilities for Rogers’ next fight.

Shields Tops “Mayhem” To Win Middleweight Title

In the evening’s co-headliner, Jake Shields was crowned Strikeforce’s middleweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

Though Miller appeared closest to ending the fight, securing a tight rear naked choke in the third that he was forced to give up when the bell sounded, Shields was dominant on the ground in earning the victory, taking Miller’s back and getting to mount nearly at will.

Shields, who jumps to 24-4-1 with his 13th-straight win, captures the title which was vacated by Cung Le earlier this year and appears poised to fight the winner of a December 19 matchup between Le and Scott Smith, made official during Saturday’s event, in his first title defense next year.

Miller drops to 22-7 after the loss, his second in his past three fights.

Mousasi, Werdum Earn Main Card Wins

Once-feared striker Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou appeared improved in his non-title matchup with Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi, but in the end it was an outcome”The African Assassin” has become all too familiar with over the last two years, as Mousasi finished a tired Sokoudjou with punches in the second.

In a matchup of heavyweight contenders making their Strikeforce debuts, former UFC contender Fabricio Werdum took out former EliteXC champ Antonio Silva, who returned to the United States after serving a one-year steroid suspension while fighting in Japan.

Coenen Sets Up “Cyborg” Fight With Win; Curran Snaps Losing Streak

On the “Fedor vs. Rogers” preliminary card, Marloes Coenen quickly submitted Roxanne Modafferi to likely earn a title shot against champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos early next year, while Jeff Curran snapped his four-fight losing streak when opponent Dustin Neace was forced to quit due to a rib injury in the opening round.

The official results for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers were:

MAIN CARD

• Fedor Emelianenko def. Brett Rogers via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:48
• Jake Shields def. Jason “Mayhem” Miller via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
  Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
• Gegard Mousasi def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:43
• Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Marloes Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 1:05
• Jeff Curran def. Dustin Neace via submission (injury) — Round 1, 1:39
• Shamar Bailey def. John Kolosci via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
• Nate Moore def. Louis Taylor via submission (strikes) — Round 2, 3:24
• Christian Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-25, 30-25)

Note: A scheduled fight between Deray Davis and Mark Miller was scratched due to time constraints.

Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko tipped the scale at 232 pounds, while his main event opponent, Brett Rogers, came in 32 pounds heavier at 264 pounds.

The event’s official weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD

• 265: Fedor Emelianenko (232) vs. Brett Rogers (264)
• 185: Jason “Mayhem” Miller (184) vs. Jake Shields (184.5)
  Strikeforce Middleweight Championship (vacant)
• 205: Gegard Mousasi (205) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204)
• 265: Antonio Silva (263) vs. Fabricio Werdum (242)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 145: Marloes Coenen (145) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (140)
• 170: Deray Davis (170.5) vs. Mark Miller (171)
• 135: Jeff Curran (145) vs. Dustin Neace (150.5)
• 170: Shamar Bailey (170) vs. John Kolosci (171)
• 185: Nate Moore (184) vs. Louis Taylor (185.5)
• 155: Jonatas Novaes (155.5) vs. Christian Uflacker (156)

Don’t forget, MMAFrenzy.com will be providing live “Fedor vs. Rogers” results tomorrow beginning at 7pm ET, with main card coverage of the event getting underway at 9pm.

Despite wins over notables Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, Werdum (12-4-1) was cut by the UFC last year following an upset loss to Junior dos Santos in October. Werdum bounced back in his Strikeforce debut, submitting Mike Kyle in the opening round of their August bout.

Silva (13-1), the former EliteXC heavyweight champ, will be fighting in the United States for the first time since being suspended for one year last July after testing positive for steroids. “Bigfoot” has won six-straight, including back-to-back wins in Sengoku over Yoshiro Nakao and Jim York.

For the latest Strikeforce news and Strikeforce rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Pictured: Fabricio Werdum

Antonio Silva won his sixth-straight in the Sengoku 10 co-main event, submitting Jim York in the opening round to pick up his second-straight win outside the US since testing positive for steroids after winning the EliteXC heavyweight title last summer.

In other notable action, former IFL champ Ryan Schultz dropped his third-straight with a first-round knockout at the hands of Kazunori Yokota, Dan Hornbuckle stopped veteran Nick Thompson with strikes in the second-round, and Joe Doerksen won his fourth-straight with a second-round TKO of Takenori Sato.

The complete results for Sengoku 10 were:

• Antz Nansen def. Hiroshi Izumi via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:56
• Antonio Silva def. Jim York via submission (arm-triangle choke) — Round 1, 3:51
• Makoto Takimoto def. Jae Sun Lee via unanimous decision
• Kazunori Yokota def. Ryan Schultz via KO (punch) — Round 1, 2:31
• Fabio Silva def. Ryo Kawamura via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:28
• Dan Hornbuckle def. Nick Thompson via TKO (strikes)- – Round 2, 1:30
• Joe Doerksen def. Takenori Sato via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:27
• Maximo Blanco def. Tetsuya Yamada via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:12
• Ikuo Usuda def. Woo Hyon Baek via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:59
• Shigeki Osawa def. Ki Hyun Kim via unanimous decision
• Jae Hyun So def. Ryosuke Komori via unanimous decision

The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and will be broadcast live in North America on HDNet.

Hiroshi Izumi (205) and Antz Nansen (204.1), both MMA newcomers with backgrounds in judo and kickboxing respectively, successfully made weight for their light heavyweight main event. Co-headliner Antonio Silva, the former EliteXC heavyweight champ whose foughts outside the US since testing positive for steroids last July, weighed in at 270-pounds for his matchup against Jim York, who tipped the scale at 253.1 pounds.

The official weigh-in results for Sengoku 10 were:

• Hiroshi Izumi (93 kg/205 lb) vs. Antz Nansen (92.6 kg/204.1 lb)
• Antonio Silva (121.1 kg/270 lb) vs. Jim York (114.8 kg/253.1 lb)
• Jae Sun Lee (76 kg/167.6 lb) vs. Makoto Takimoto (75.3 kg/166 lb)
• Ryan Schultz (69.5 kg/153.2 lb) vs. Kazunori Yokota (69.8 kg/153.9 lb)
• Ryo Kawamura (92.4 kg/203.7 lb) vs. Fabio Silva (91.6 kg/201.9 lb)
• Dan Hornbuckle (74.9 kg/165.1 lb) vs. Nick Thompson (75.9 kg/167.3 lb)
• Joe Doerksen (82.7 kg/182.3 lb) vs. Takenori Sato (83kg/183 lb)
• Maximo Blanco (70 kg/154.3 lb) vs. Tetsuya Yamada (82.7 kg/182.3 lb)
• Baek Woo Hyun (69.8 kg/153.9 lb) vs. Ikuo Usuda (69.8 kg/153.9 lb)
• Shigeki Osawa (64.9 kg/143.1 lb) vs. Kim Ki Hyun (64.8 kg/142.9 lb)
• So Jee Hyun (60kg/132.3 lb) vs. Ryosuke Komori (59.9 kg/132.1 lb)

Antonio Silva

Just when you thought it was safe to pull one over on the California State Athletic Commission, word comes down that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is getting slapped harder than Badr Hari after the K-1 GP Finals. According to Dave Meltzer of Yahoo!Sports, the CSAC has not taken kindly to Silva’s blatant disregard for the steroid-related suspension he received this past summer, and as punishment are now looking to revoke Silva’s fighter license. The commission is even going an unprecedented step further, fining Silva’s manager (Alex Davis of American Top Team) $2,500 just for negotiating the Sengoku bout which Silva won only two days ago.

So how bad would a revoking of Silva’s license really be you ask? This bad:

“A license revocation would mean Silva, and his corner men, would be banned from fighting in all U.S. commission states until California granted him a new license, which would be no less than one year from the date of it being revoked. Such an action would force whatever form EliteXC that potentially resurfaces this year to strip Silva of the title.”

Well there’s always the land of the rising sun, right Antonio?

Given, Antonio Silva didn’t have to ignore the CSAC’s ruling to instead compete in the “we don’t care” island of Japan, but I do feel a little sympathy for the guy. The man has to eat just like anyone else and being suspended from your job for one year, especially in this economy, has to be difficult even for a mildly popular professional fighter. Not to mention the CSAC has its own ocean of problems which seem to bring down their credibility about every other week.

Any how, Silva will have his day in front of the commission on February 10th, where he and one can only imagine a variety of lawyers will be doing their best to mend fences with Bill Douglas and crew. Oh the suspense.

• WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has canceled a scheduled US press tour to begin training for his bout against Andrei Arlovski on January 24th at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.
• The UFC has released light heavyweight knockout artist Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.
• A rumored rematch between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Alistair Overeem has been scrapped from K-1 DYNAMITE!! 2008 on New Years Eve.

News and Notes

• The UFC has struck a deal with broadcaster Pro Sieben to return to German television ahead of an anticipated event in the country in mid-2009.
• Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell have not yet signed for their rumored headlining bout at UFC 99 in Germany and neither fighter is “thrilled” about the potential matchup, according to Franklin McNeil on ESPN’s MMA Live, which can be viewed below.
• Former UFC heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum’s hopes to fight for Affliction were dashed this week as the promotion declined to sign the recently released fighter, according to Franklin McNeil on ESPN’s MMA Live, which can be viewed below.
• 43-year-old veteran Mike Van Arsdale has begun training for a potential comeback.
• Welterweight prospect Lyman Good has signed with ESPN Deportes-broadcast Bellator Fighting Championships.
• Antonio Silva has been booked to fight Yoshihiro Nakao on January 4th at Sengoku 7 despite being suspended by the CSAC.
• Incorrect facts aside, Kimbo Slice has been named a “2008 Turkey of the Year” by SI: “Big, mean, bearded street fighter, an Internet You Tube sensation, gets a crack at a title in a hugely hyped mixed martial arts bout after only three pro fights, faces a last-minute replacement and — of course — has his big, mean, bearded head handed to him 14 seconds later. Snorrrrre.”
• DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will face Musashi and Tatsuya Kawajiri will take on Kozo Takeda in K-1 kickboxing rules bouts at K-1 DYNAMITE!! 2008.
• Light heavyweight Steve Steinbeiss and middleweight Nissen Osterneck will both make the jump from the WEC to the UFC.
• Heavyweight Cain Velasquez will return to action following a recent knee surgery in February, according to ESPN’s MMA Live, which can be viewed below.
• Disgraced heavyweight Kimbo Slice will likely make an appearance at a K-1 event on December 6th in Japan and is expected to announce that he’ll begin competing for the promotion in March.
• Thales Leites says he’d accept a fight against Demian Maia: “I’d accept a fight, I’m a professional. Demian is a great fighter and has been doing a great job in UFC. It’s possible that they put this fight, because the belt is with a Brazilian guy and we’re growing, so they can put this fight to take one of the Brazilians from the top.”

Links

• UFC.com takes a look at Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s seven defining moments.

Videos

MMA Live Episode 29:

Michael Bisping talks Rashad Evans, MMA media, The Ultimate Fighter, and more:

Quinton Jackson talks UFC 92 Wanderlei Silva rematch:

Trailer for UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008:

Fedor Emelianenko teaching striking:

“Davis (Silva’s manager) was contacted in response to a report that appeared on the Brazilian MMA website Tatame.com, which is stating that Silva is “close to signing with Sengoku.” While speaking with Davis, he indicated that he did not agree with Tatame’s characterization of contract negotiations. Confirming that Silva has indeed been contacted by Sengoku, Davis was quick to add that a finalized agreement is not yet imminent.

Davis also stated that several issues must be carefully considered before Silva’s camp can decide whether it will move forward with a new promotion. The most notable concern on the table is how they want to proceed in the wake of Silva’s one-year suspension handed down by the California State Athletic Commission.”

Ignoring the CSAC to pick up a paycheck isn’t the worst career move, but it probably isn’t the brightest either. Then again Vitor Belfort did pretty much the same thing last year when he fought in England after being suspended by the NSAC, and that all worked itself out. Let us not also forget that “Ladies Man ” Armando Garcia is no longer with the CSAC, so who knows, maybe Silva will be able to fly away to Japan on wings of approval with a little finessing. The article also noted that Silva’s contract will technically be up for sale along with the rest of ProElite when it is auctioned off on November 17th.

Silva, who claimed the newly-created title with a second-round TKO of Justin Eilers in July, tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone following his July victory.

Several pieces of evidence were submitted by Silva during today’s hearing, including a negative steroid test conducted one month after the initial test as well as evidence that he is unable to safely take steroids due to an existing medical condition and that he was taking a supplement known to cause false positives for Boldenone.

The evidence was not compelling enough, however, for the CSAC to overturn the result, as the commission voted unanimously voted 5-0 to uphold the one-year suspension and $2,500 fine.

ProElite, Inc., the parent company of EliteXC, filed for bankruptcy this week, leaving Silva without a promotion to call home when he’s eligible to return from the suspension next summer.