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.

Le (6-0) won the 185-pound championship with a third-round TKO victory over Frank Shamrock in March 2008, but had yet to defend the title as movie roles prevented him from returning to the cage. According to MMA Weekly, Le recently secured another movie deal and has opted to relinquish the title after 18-months of inactivity.

Shields (23-4-1), the former EliteXC welterweight champion who is currently riding a 12-fight win streak that includes victories over Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Paul Daley, and Nick Thompson, last fought in June, submitting Robbie Lawler in the opening round of the catchweight contest.

Miller (22-6) fought to a no contest against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in May and the pair had been expected to rematch for DREAM’s middleweight title in September, but both fighters have now joined Strikeforce’s 185-pound roster. Since 2006, Miller is 8-2 with wins over the likes of Lawler, Hiromitsu Miura, Tim Kennedy, and Kala Hose, while suffering losses to notables “Jacare” and Frank Trigg.

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

A lightweight matchup between UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel and undefeated prospect Billy Evangelista will headline a November 6 “Strikeforce Challengers” event, which airs live on Showtime from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

Pictured: Jorge Gurgel

“I’m set to take on Jake Sheilds for the middleweight championship of the world in Strikeforce,” wrote Miller.

A date and location was not disclosed for the matchup, though the fight is expected to appear on the same card as Fedor Emelaienko’s Strikeforce debut, likely in November.

Shields (23-4-1), the former EliteXC welterweight champion who is currently riding a 12-fight win streak that includes victories over Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Paul Daley, and Nick Thompson, last fought in June, submitting Robbie Lawler in the opening round of the catchweight contest.

Miller (22-6) fought to a no contest against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in May and the pair had been expected to rematch for DREAM’s middleweight title in September, but both fighters have now joined Strikeforce’s 185-pound roster. Since 2006, Miller is 8-2 with wins over the likes of Lawler, Hiromitsu Miura, Tim Kennedy, and Kala Hose, while suffering losses to notables “Jacare” and Frank Trigg.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Strikeforce news and Strikeforce rumors.

Pictured: Jason “Mayhem” Miller

According to GracieMag, “Jacare”, who was expected to fight Jason “Mayhem” Miller at DREAM 11 on October 6, will instead make his Strikeforce debut at an October 25 event in Fresno, California, which could also host the Strikeforce debut of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

Souza’s first bout could be an interim middleweight title matchup against former EliteXC champion Jake Shields, who was added to the card earlier this week.

“Jacare” (10-2), who had been rumored to be joining the UFC in late-2007 only to instead sign with DREAM, won his first three fights with the promotion over Ian Murphy, “Mayhem”, and Zelg Galesic to extend his win streak to 10-straight. Souza would next suffer a first-round knockout to Gegard Mousasi in the finals of DREAM’s middleweight grand prix last September, then fought to a no contest in a rematch with Miller after being cut open by an illegal kick in the May bout.

Strikeforce will hold a media conference call on Thursday during which it is expected to announce details on the October event as well as its recently-announced “alliance” with DREAM.

Check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section for the latest Strikeforce rumors.

“Although the deal with Strikeforce is an exclusive one, it’s far from a contract signed in blood as Fedor is currently contractually obligated to fight for Strikeforce for just one year,” said Coker. “Basically it’s three fights over the next year, and we’ll start in the Fall some time…The very first fight that Fedor fights will be on Showtime, and then the roll-out of television from there forward hasn’t been determined 100%, but his first fight will be on Showtime.”

According to Coker, Strikeforce is planning on having Emelianenko fight Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and champion Alistair Overeem, though Fedor is unlikely to immediately fight for the title and will instead build up to a fight with Overeem.

“[Fedor] and Alistair Overeem should be an amazing fight, and people that haven’t seen Alistair, you know, he’s an amazing fighter,” said Coker. “I think we should do a couple of fights and build that one up, and then let their champion fight our champion, and let’s see what happens. We’re hoping that Alistair will be ready to fight in the Fall, and we can put him on one of the cards with Fedor, and not fight against each other but fight against someone else, and let’s build that fight up.”

During the appearances, Coker also announced a “alliance” between Strikeforce and FEG, the Japan-based parent company of DREAM and K-1, that will see fighters from both promotions compete at future events.

Coker also confirmed that Jake Shields will fight for the interim Strikeforce middleweight title at an October event against an opponent to-be-announced with 185-pound title-holder Cung Le still out of action while pursuing an acting career. The October event could also host Emelianenko’s Strikeforce debut.

A press conference is being planned for Thursday to announce details on Fedor’s debut, including a date and opponent, as well as the official announcement of an alliance with FEG and other developments.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Strikeforce news and Strikeforce rumors.

[HT: Bloody Elbow]

One of the nagging questions for MMA fans over the past sixteen months has been “When will Cung Le defend his middleweight title?” The answer to that question seems to be, “Not any time soon.” It is now being reported that former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields will be challenging for an interim belt at middleweight, while the promotion waits on Le to return to fighting. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently broke this news to MMAFanhouse at the press conference for the promotions upcoming Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos event.

Shields’ last outing came in June at a catch-weight of 182 pounds, against former EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler. Shields defeated the heavy handed Lawler via guillotine early in the first round of the fight. Prior to that Shields had been on a eight month layoff since defeating Paul Daley in his final defense of his EliteXC welterweight belt, before the promotion ended operations.

Current champion, Le has yet to defend the title he won in March of 2008 from Frank Shamrock. He has instead focused on a movie career which has included work in at least six films. There still is no word yet on a time frame for Le’s return to the cage.

There is also no word yet on a potential opponent, or date for Shields’ interim title challenge, which would likely take place in September or October. There had previously been rumors of a match up between Shields and either Matt Lindland or Vitor Belfort in August, but neither came to fruition.

Pictured: Jake Shields

8,867 fans attended the Showtime-televised event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Following the win, which improved Shields’ record to 23-4-1, the former EliteXC welterweight champion called for a middleweight title bout against Strikeforce champ Cung Le. Le, however, is not expected to defend his title for the indefinite future while pursuing a movie career and Shields may be forced to face another opponent for an interim title before Le returns. Lawler, a former EliteXC middleweight champion, falls to 18-5 following the defeat.

Heavyweight contender Brett Rogers needed just 22-seconds to knockout Andrei Arlovski with a flurry of punches in the Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields co-headliner. Rogers, who improved to 10-0 with the win, will next meet Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on a future Strikeforce card, while Arlovski’s future is less certain after falling to 15-7 with his second-straight knockout loss.

In other main card action, Nick Diaz overwhelmed Scott Smith with punches over two full rounds before forcing Smith to tap to a rear naked choke in the third and Joe Riggs and Mike Whitehead picked up unanimous decision victories over Phil Baroni and Kevin Randleman respectively.

SEE ALSO: Carano-Cyborg, Thomson-Melendez II Set For August 15 Strikeforce Event

The Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields results were:

• Jake Shields def. Robbie Lawler via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1. 2:02
• Brett Rogers def. Andrei Arlovski via KO (punches) — Round 1, 0:22
• Nick Diaz def. Scott Smith via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 1:41
• Joe Riggs def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mike Whitehead def. Kevin Randleman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jesse Finney def. Josh Bumgarner via submission (kimura) — Round 1, 1:55
• Mike Kyle def. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:05
• Booker DeRousse def. James Wade via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:06
• Tyron Woodley def. Sal Woods via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 4:20
• Lucas Lopes def. Scott Ventimiglia via DQ (illegal knee) — Round 1, 3:26
• Pat Benson def. Dave Cochran via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:18

[Pictured: Jake Shields]

The event’s preliminary card is scheduled to begin at 7:45pm ET with the main, Showtime-televised card, headlined by a catchweight showdown between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields, commencing at 10pm ET.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com all night for live results, plus stop by after the fights for extensive post-fight coverage.

STRIKEFORCE: LAWLER VS. SHIELDS RESULTS

• Jake Shields def. Robbie Lawler via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1. 2:02
• Brett Rogers def. Andrei Arlovski via KO (punches) — Round 1, 0:22
• Nick Diaz def. Scott Smith via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 1:41
• Joe Riggs def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mike Whitehead def. Kevin Randleman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jesse Finney def. Josh Bumgarner via submission (kimura) — Round 1, 1:55
• Mike Kyle def. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:05
• Booker DeRousse def. James Wade via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:06
• Tyron Woodley def. Sal Woods via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 4:20
• Lucas Lopes def. Scott Ventimiglia via DQ (illegal knee) — Round 1, 3:26
• Pat Benson def. Dave Cochran via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:18

[Pictured: Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields]