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Originally believed to be a non-title bout, Strikeforce commentator Mauro Ranallo clarified on The Fight Show on Tuesday that the belt will be on the line in matchup, which is expected to headline the Showtime-televised event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

For more on the fight, and why Emelianenko isn’t challenging Overeem for the title, check out “Alistair Overeem Returns to Strikeforce Against Brett Rogers on May 15“.

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Pictured: Brett Rogers

Overeem today announced the likely matchup with Rogers, but has two additional bouts planned before making his anticipated return, as he’ll likely fight on March 22 at DREAM 13 against an opponent to-be-determined, with Josh Barnett and Neil Grove rumored as possibilities, and is also expected to fight at Glory 12 on April 24 in Bosnia.

“”It’s been too long. … This year, I want to fight in MMA,” Overeem commented to MMAjunkie. “[Rogers] is an excellent opponent. I’m looking forward to [smacking] his face and his loud mouth. … I don’t think it’s going to be for the title because [Brett] lost to Fedor. He’s coming off a loss, so I don’t think they’re going to put it for the title, but it’s up to the promotion.”

A PRIDE veteran and K-1 kickboxer, Overeem (32-11) won the title with a November 2007 win over Paul Buentello, and has since reeled off seven-straight first-round stoppages while overseas, including a first-round KO of Kazuyuki Fujita in his most-recent fight in December at Dynamite!! 2009.

Rogers (10-1), a former EliteXC contender, scored a 22-second knockout of Andrei Arlovski last June to improve to 10-0, but suffered his first loss with a second-round TKO to top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko in November.

While Rogers is a welcome opponent for Overeem, many are wondering why Overeem isn’t fighting Fedor instead. Rumors continue to point to issues between Emelianenko and Strikeforce, including recently reported attempts to re-negotiate his contract, and Overeem commented to MMAjunkie that Fedor didn’t want the fight and may be trying to leave the promotion.

Strikeforce’s May 15 event has yet to be officially announced, but is also expected to feature Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

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

Pictured: Alistair Overeem

Melendez, the lightweight title-holder, is expected to return against DREAM lightweight champ Shinya Aoki, while recently-crowned welterweight champ Nick Diaz is likely to fight Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, not Jay Hieron, in his first title defense.

“Cyborg,” the 145-pound women’s champion, will face Erin Toughill next following her successful title defense over Marloes Coenen on Saturday, with the title-holder then fighting the winner of the upcoming eight-women 145-pound tournament.

Lashley, who improved to 5-0 with a first-round TKO of Wes Sims at “Miami,” will stay active and could fight heavyweight contender Brett Rogers in his next bout.

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

Pictured: Gilbert Melendez

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.

Rogers will appear at 10am ET on “First Take” and will also be a guest on “Sports Nation” at 4pm ET.

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

Lashley was last in action defeating Bobb Sapp via TKO June 27 in the headlining fight of Prize Fight Promotion’s “Ultimate Chaos” event, continuing his four fight undefeated career. Lashley had previously defeated Mike Cook at a May MFC event, as well as Jason Guida in March for Square Ring Promotions.

If Lashley were to sign with Strikeforce for the November 7th event, there has not yet been word of who his opponent may be. It is also still unclear if the Strikeforce deal, should it work out, would mean that Lashley would not be involved in a November event for Prize Fight Promotions.

Ratings for the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter 10 dropped 29 percent to 2.9 million from the series record 4.1 million who tuned in for the TUF 10 debut. [Spike TV]

Pictured: Anderson Silva