I'll be posting my entire list of predictions for the main card of Strikeforce: Evolution tomorrow, but has there ever been any doubt who I'm going with for the lightweight title bout?
Thanks to Sherdog for the picture (you can see a full gallery of Gil training here), and to Gilbert for showing MMAHotStuff a little love! Can't wait to see this fight! Can't wait for Gilbert to get his belt back!
FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers
Premieres Tuesday, Nov. 3, 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®;
For The First Time Ever, Film Crew Captures The Athlete, The Family Man and The Mystique of MMA's # 1 Fighter, Fedor, in Russian Training Camp.
NEW YORK (Oct. 22, 2009)-In the wake of the critically acclaimed debut of FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic, SHOWTIME Sports® turns the spotlight to mixed martial arts with FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers. FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will feature unrestricted access to one of the most enigmatic professional athletes of today, Fedor Emelianenko and his next opponent, the undefeated Brett Rogers, as they prepare to headline "STRIKEFORCE/M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights" to be broadcast LIVE on Saturday, Nov. 7 (9:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.
FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will premiere on SHOWTIME® on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The CBS Television Network will also make the show available to its 203 affiliated stations for broadcast in advance of the fight.
From director Ron Yassen, who is embedded in Fedor's training camp in Stary Oskol, Russia: "Fedor is beyond captivating as a fighter, and more so, as a man. It's a pure joy to film him so intimately as he strives for perfection in life and sport with grace and charm. While training for this most important match, he kindly opened up his life to us in and out of the ring, without the ego that often comes with being the very best at one's craft."
Produced in conjunction with Roadside Entertainment, FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will showcase both fighters as they prepare for this historic fight. Nov. 7 marks the first time Fedor, widely considered the sport's No. 1 fighter, will appear in front of a national broadcast television audience. Despite his iconic status within the sport, Fedor (30-1) remains shrouded in mystery, living and training in seclusion in a remote mining village in Russia far away from the spotlight afforded the sports' very best.
Rogers lives and trains in Minneapolis, and enters the fight with an impressive 10-0 record after most recently dismantling former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Rogers, a quiet, soft-spoken giant outside the cage, who earlier this year quit his job as a tire technician at Sam's Club, has the opportunity of a lifetime to dethrone the sport's greatest in front of a national television audience.
"The response to our inaugural episode of Fight Camp 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic chronicling the boxing tournament has been overwhelming," said SHOWTIME Sports General Manager Ken Hershman, who commissioned the project. "Because of the subjects involved-the mysterious world champion set to fight a man living the American dream-we had to turn our lens in this direction. Special thanks to M-1 Global and STRIKEFORCE for affording us a level of access to both men that has been unparalleled in their respective careers."
Scott Coker, president of STRIKEFORCE, added, "This is a one of a kind opportunity for fans to go behind the scenes and take a close look at the extraordinary, number one fighter in the world - Fedor - and his opponent who has become a symbol of The American Dream."
Below are the air dates and times for FIGHT CAMP 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME 2®.
Tuesday, Nov. 3 9:30p (premiere) SHO
Tuesday, Nov. 3 10:00p SHO2
Wednesday, Nov. 4 11p SHO2
Thursday, Nov. 5 10p SHO2
Friday, Nov. 6 10p SHO2
Saturday, Nov. 7 4:30p SHO
Note: all times ET/PT
Team BJPenn.com and MMAHotStuff received pictures from Michael, the UFC101 contest winner. It looks like Michael and his brother Chris had a great time. They said the seats were amazing and they were happy to see one of their favorite fighters in BJ Penn walk away the champion. Oh, and they ran into some other familiar faces...
We're glad we were able to send these two worthy fans to their first UFC event.
(the winner Michael is the camo and his brother Chris is in the TapouT tshirt)
Thanks to all of you who sent me your photos sporting your TapouT gear today in memory of Mask and in support of PunkAss and SkyScrape. I picked a couple of my favorites...
Here's Tim - lookin good with the hood up!
And the Bentleys from Baltimore: Who could resist this photo of the adorable couple?
Friendly reminder today has been deemed TapouT day. Wear your gear in memory of Mask and in support of PunkAss and SkyScrape.
For those of you that are sporting your finest TapouT threads, feel free to send me photos and I'll post them on my site - you can email me at mmahotstuff@gmail.com
Keep 'em coming!
If you twitter tag with #tapoutday
As you may know, I was lucky enough to go to UFC 91. Weigh-ins are a great event and a great way to get hyped up for the fight the next day. If you go to a live event, I highly suggest attending the weigh-ins the day before! You'll also typically see a lot of fighters roaming. For instance, I saw BJ Penn walking around the concession area and Frank Trigg was sitting just a few rows in front of me.
Click here to check out some pictures from the weigh-ins
As always, you can check out all of my photo albums in the sidebar to the right!
Want to catch a sneak peek of the fighters from TUF 8? Take a look here.
I made my way out to Stockton to watch the EliteXC "Unfinished Business" fights. The fights were definitely worth the long drive from San Francisco... here are the results:
Here's a picture from weighins where Nick gave us a glimpse of the ass Jake was about to kick. (Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)
