Fedor vs. Brett Rogers Set for Fall

During a public workout Wednesday in New York City -- where he deftly avoided gazing too long at the neighboring hot dog stands -- Strikeforce marquee attraction Fedor Emelianenko had his debut firmed up by promoters: he will face unbeaten Brett Rogers at a location and date to be decided sometime this fall.

It’s a solid, if unspectacular return to the states for the Russian, who hasn’t competed since January of 2009. Rogers has looked dangerous in most of his recent appearances; out of everyone on the Strikeforce roster, he’s probably the most deserving at this point. (While you’d figure champion Alistair Overeem should be first in line, he hasn’t competed in the promotion for nearly two years.)

Showtime’s immediate order of business will be assembling some kind of barker program that plays up Rogers’ chances and one-punch KO ability. It shouldn’t be too hard: He’s not quite Brock Lesnar, but he’s no Hong-Man Choi, either.

Inevitable talking points for the inevitable hype show:

-Rogers needed a good few minutes less than Emelianenko did to put away Andrei Arlovski back in June.

-Emelianenko isn’t used to the cage and may get tripped up psychologically.

-Emelianenko was getting outfoxed by Arlovski before clocking him, leading to suspicion of machine malfunction.

-Rogers is a hungry underdog with nothing to lose.

-Rogers, who worked at Sam’s Club up until recently, is a Rocky Balboa (in a Clubber Lang body) story.

Hopefully it’ll turn out better for him than “Rocky V.” (That’s the one where Rocky got brain damage. Pretty sad.