The Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers” prime time mixed martial arts event airing live on CBS from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, has come to a close.

So too, has the undefeated streak of Brett Rogers, after succumbing to a brutal right hook from Fedor Emelianenko in the early moments of round two of the main event.

It wasn’t the landslide some predicted, as “The Grim” was tougher than a two-dollar steak, even busting the Russian open with a stinging jab in the first round.

Rogers also avoided multiple submission attempts from Emelianenko by way of brute strength — and even had mount on the former PRIDE champ with some accurate bomb-dropping.

Just another day at the office for Captain WAMMA.

Emelianenko will likely face Fabricio Werdum for a chance to challenge the missing-in-action Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Assuming the title is not vacated first.

Marloes Coenen started things off by trying to prove that her previous loss to Roxanne Modafferi was a fluke and that she was a much different, much more dangerous fighter.

Mission accomplished.

Coenen made quick work of her opponent with crisp stand-up and a painful armbar that sent Modafferi to tapsville just over a minute into the first.

Expect her to challenge current women’s champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos sooner rather than later.

Antonio Silva came to the cage with a big foot and a big heart, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges in his unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum. “Junior” was smashing his way through the first round with heavy hands and the killer instinct, but “Vai Cavalo” survived and eventually turned the tide midway through the fight.

Though both fighters appeared to be exhausted by the third frame, Werdum was the busier of the two, ending the fight in a dominant position and leaving an indellible impression on the judges.

No doubt he’ll be calling the Emelianenko camp first thing in the morning.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou says he’s from the jungle, which could explain why he has the heart of a lion. Despite being outclassed on his feet and on the ground, “The African Assassin” kept his composure and for once used his vaunted Judo skills to advance position in a fight.

Mousasi went for several takedown attempts that were reversed; however, it wasn’t enough to stop the seemingly unstoppable “Dreamcatcher.”

Turns out he didn’t need to put his championship belt on the line in this one — but rest assured there exists a crop of 205-pounders who won’t let him get away with that in the future.

But if Mousasi fights like he did in his past two fights it probably won’t matter.

What does matter to Jason Miller is putting on a show — as was obvious to anyone watching his entertaining entrance production. Hearing the pop for “Mayhem” and the roar of his “Monkeys” once again had me wondering aloud why he wasn’t promoted at all during the 360 special on Showtime.

Perhaps they knew he was going to give this one away to the slick submission skills of Jake Shields? The former Elite XC welterweight champ continued to roll through any and all challengers, though he wasn’t completely out of danger during the contest.

Miller stunned the grappling wizard with a DEEP rear naked choke in the waning seconds of the third frame. The Gracie disciple was mere seconds from napsville but the horn saved him from a shocking submission defeat.

Jake Shields is your new Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Who’s next at 185-pounds to challenge him for the gold? If Cung Le does return in December, he may eventually seek what many believe is still rightfully his.

Now that the first Strikeforce CBS prime time show is in the books, what did you think of the production? The fights? You’ve heard what I had to say on the night’s festivities, now I want to hear from you.

If you missed any of the action you can check out the Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers” play-by-play and live fight coverage here.

Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers.”

The preliminary fights are now underway and round-by-round coverage of the CBS main card prime time action begins 9 p.m. ET!

If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers” results post and not this one.

Enjoy the show, Maniacs!

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has upped the ante in its latest round of counter programming, assembling a two-hour block of recent main event bouts to challenge tonight’s Strikeforce show from Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Spike TV has scheduled “UFC Main Events” for tonight (Nov. 7) at 9 PM ET, directly opposite the Strikeforce: “Fedor vs. Rogers” prime time event that’s set to air live on CBS.

Fights featured in Zuffa’s new special include:

UFC 103: Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort
UFC 102: Antonio Nogueira vs. Randy Couture
UFC 101: Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin
UFC 101: BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian

This is not the UFC’s first counter programming effort against Strikeforce. Spike TV debuted UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” to run head-to-head against “Shamrock vs. Diaz” back on April 11, and then put UFC 100 up against “Carano vs. Cyborg” this past August.

While UFC President Dana White at one time supported the efforts of Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, he is now at war with “Strikefarce” since they entered the proverbial big stage.

Who gets DVR’d and who gets watched live? Or will you be wearing out the buttons on your remote, feverishly switching between the two broadcasts?

Let’s hear your plans for tonight’s MMA programming!

Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

“EA Sports is the premiere game manufacturing company in the world and I’ve been an EA Sports fan since Madden 1! For them to have Strikeforce in their game as the premiere league, we’re very honored.”

–Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker reacts favorably to the inclusion of his San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion in the upcoming release of “EA Sports MMA” video game. UFC President Dana White had a very public war of words earlier this year after White accused the gaming giant of turning down his offer for a video game partnership only to then create one of their own after the massive success of THQ’s “UFC Undisputed.” EA Sports will feature Fedor Emelianenko as a digitized version of himself facing any and all challengers — including UFC star Randy “The Natural” Couture, who retains control over his ancillary rights and has language in his contract that allows him the freedom to use his likeness outside of the UFC. Any Maniacs out there interested in adding a primarily non-UFC based video game to their collection? And what can EA do to separate itself from “Undisputed?” Opinions, please.

World Victory Road presents Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle,” taking place in the famed Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan on November 7, has come to a close.

The event delivered a nine-fight card live via HDNEt and more than fulfilled the MMA enthusiasts’ thirst for thrilling competition, showcasing several wars of attrition, a barn burner of main event and a number of quick finishes that kept the live and TV audience on the edge of their seat.

As the last event of the year before the Sengoku Raiden Championship on New Year’s Eve, Sengoku 11 served as an invigorating prelude to the year-end extravaganza.

Without further ado, check out our complete fight recap after the jump.

Shigeki Osawa vs. Ronnie Mann

The night kicked off with a three-round scrap between the British prospect, Ronnie Mann and former amateur wrestling superstar, Kenji Osawa. Mann, the far more experienced of the two, staged a MMA clinic against Osawa, who made his debut on Sengoku’s main card.

Mann surprised many as he fearlessly pursued takedowns against the world class wrestler. He kept busy on the feet and on the ground to stay one step ahead of Osawa, threatening with several submission attempts. Osawa kicked up to a higher gear with forty seconds left in the final round, feverishly working the top control and ground-and-pound; however, his effort proved belated as Mann walked away with a majority decision.

Dave Herman vs. Jim York

Dave “Pee Wee” Herman notched another KO victory with a raw display of striking acumen. York took control of the stand-up exchange. With his hands hovering dangerously low, Herman got tagged repeatedly on the feet and found himself on the back. York snatched his feet for an ankle lock. Herman briefly countered with toe hold but switched gears to hammer York with heel strikes – Herman’s heel landed flush on York’s jaw to add another stoppage victory to the ledger of the unstoppable “Pee Wee.”

Marlon Sandro vs. Yuji Hoshino

In a match pitting the current champions of two Japanese promotions, Marlon Sandro took one home for Pancrase as he made a quick work of Cage Force featherweight champion, Yuji Hoshino.

After a sluggish start that saw the fighters stall in the clinch, Sandro exploded forward with a flurry of mile-wide hooks to counter Hoshino’s kick: Sandro’s strikes penetrated through the gaping void above Hoshino’s low guard and landed flush on the chin.

Having shut off Hoshino’s light, Sandro earned his 15^th career W and rebounded from the galling loss to Michihiro Omigawa in the semi-final round of the featherweight grand prix.

Akihiro Gono vs. Yoon Young Kim

Akihiro Gono forwent his trademark pageantry – he instead trudged to the ring with solemn expression. Upon his return to ring after a devastating KO loss to Dan Hornbuckle, he seemed devoid of his usual pizzazz: His nerves manifested in the frustratingly hesitant tussle he waged for the first two rounds.

The first round unfolded as a tentatively paced striking contest with both fighters’ trading low kicks and jab-right cross combinations. Round two proceeded in a similar fashion: Kim displayed crisp body punch combinations while Gono remained unable to pull his trigger. On the mat, Gono looked equally sluggish on the ground, content to maintain the top position.

Gono started the final round with urgency and staggered Kim with a right hand to the jaw. Finally displaying a semblance of momentum, he inflicted further damage with a series of punches and a jumping knee. Gono eked out a unanimous decision victory.

Immediately after the fight, he took the mic and demonstrated surprising English proficiency to deliver a message to his last opponent, Dan Hornbuckle: The humble veteran congratulated Hornbuckle for the victory in their bout and thanked him for the wake-up call to train harder. He concluded the message with a plea for rematch and word of encouragement in light of Hornbuckle’s possible showdown with Makoto Takimoto for the welterweight belt.

Kevin Randleman vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Upon his return to Japan, UFC and PRIDE veteran, Kevin Randleman met the undefeated Bulgarian prospect, Stanislav Nedkov for a three-round war of attrition. They traded takedowns and top control throughout the fight. An extremely close contest prompted two of the judges score it a draw and the third ruling in favor of Nedkov: In accordance with the promotional rule, the two judges were forced to overturn their verdict and pick the winner. In the end, Nedkov walked away with a split decision victory to keep his undefeated record intact.

Kazunori Yokota vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

In one of the two matches pitting top lightweight contenders, Mitsuoka and Yokota showcased a collision of “power and speed,” per the pre-fight billing. Mitsuoka showed his momentum in the first round by scoring takedowns, wearing off Yokota with knee strikes and dirty boxing from the clinch, and securing advantageous positions on the ground.

Yokota proved resilient in the second and third round, peppering Mitsuoka with crisp, straight punches. Mitsuoka kept pace with stifling wrestling but ultimately proved unable to do much more than locking up Yokota with body lock. Yokota also revealed a glimpse of his judo background with an exquisite judo throw in the second round.

After a three-round war of attrition, Yokota edged Mitsuoka with unanimous decision.

Satoru Kitaoka vs. Jorge Masvidal

After having his momentum halted and belt wrested, the former lightweight champion, Satoru Kitaoka experienced another deflating loss against Jorge Masvidal.

Kitaoka had his moment in the first round, as he threatened to wrench Masvidal’s foot off with his signature heel hook. Masvidal persevered and eventually spun out of the submission. After the arduous takedown and submission effort, Kitaoka precipitously lost steam. Seemingly on auto pilot, Kitaoka persisted for one anemic takedown attempt after another but Masvidal countered with guillotine choke attempt and mercilessly punished him with ground-and-pound. The first round ended with Kitaoka bruised and struggling to walk back to his corner.

Wobbling on his feet, Kitaoka started the second round with (gasp!) another takedown. Kitaoka dug deep for every last ounce of strength to lock in a toe hold that looked tight: Again, Masvidal spun out. A slumped heap of flesh at this point, Kitaoka gave another futile attempt for takedown but eventually succumbed to Masvidal’s barrage of punches.

With a stoppage victory, Masvidal made a strong case for title shot against the current champion, Mizuto Hirota.

Jorge Santiago vs. Mamed Khalidov

In the upset special of the night, Mamed Khalidov made a quantum leap from the obscure corner to the forefront of the MMA world.

In a non-title bout against the reigning Sengoku champion and top-ranked middleweight, Jorge Santiago, the Chechen-Polish fighter sent a shockwave throughout Ryogoku Kokugikan with his granite fist.

After a slow start to the fight which saw Santiago breeze through the first round with top control on the ground, Khalidov put an exclamation mark with a punch that turned the tide: After bucking Santiago off, he got up and stunned him with a single blow, forcing the champion to turtle up. Khalidov then swarmed him with a flurry of punches until the referee intervened.

Hatsu Hioki vs. Michihiro Omigawa

In an entertaining scrap to cap off the night, Hioki and Omigawa went toe to toe in a gripping stand-up action. After a feeling-out process on the feet to begin the first round, Omigawa landed a crisp right cross.

The first significant strike of the fight served as a wake-up call for Hioki to force Omigawa into his domain. He maintained top control and peppered Omigawa relentlessly with short punches. Toward the end of the round, he secured a back mount and rolled into an arm bar, forcing Omigawa at his mercy for the last thirty seconds.

In the second round, the two fighters continued with the action on the feet. While Omigawa sought to navigate past Hioki’s reach and land big shots, Hioki countered with short straight punches to keep his foe at the end of his reach. In addition to the rudimentary but effective striking, Hioki again showcased fluid grappling on the ground.

In the third round, Omigawa turned up the heat in the striking exchange. Though neither fighter showed a decisive advantage, Omigawa started finding the target with his punches and seized the momentum in spurts. The partisan crowd sat on the edge of their seat and went into frenzy over his valiant effort.

After fifteen minutes of feverish action, Omigawa walked away with a split decision victory that sent the HDNet broadcast team into throes of disbelief – a controversial decision that reeks of favoritism and dubious judging certainly puts a damper on the entertaining bout and punctuates an otherwise solid night of action on a sour note.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for post-fight reports and other scoops on the aftermath of the event.

On the heels of his decision to vacate the Strikeforce middleweight title due to his budding Hollywood acting career, former 185-pound champion Cung Le could return to the San Jose-based promotion as early as next month for a war of attrition against the always-game Scott Smith.

MMAmania.com learned of the potential match-up from sources close to the event earlier today.

Strikeforce: ‘Evolution’ has been announced by the promotion as its next televised Showtime event, set for the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on Dec. 19.

Le already has two movies set to be released in the near future, including the big screen version of the popular video game “Tekken” in which Le will play the role of Marshall Law. With three more movies in progress, the San Shou disciple was not expected to be back in action earlier than Spring 2010.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had considered creating an interim title in his absence; however, Le agreed to vacate the title altogether so that his part-time fight schedule no longer held the belt hostage.

Now Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Jake Shields will fight for that title tonight (Nov. 7) live on CBS. It’s already been well over a year since Le captured the gold from Frank Shamrock in his hometown and one has to wonder if the 37-year-old Le still has the chops to compete in the new-look Strikeforce.

Scott Smith could help answer that question if they do indeed throw down in December.

“Hands of Steel” was battered and beaten before submitting to a rear naked choke at the hands of Nick Diaz at last June’s Strikeforce: “Lawler vs. Shields” event in St. Louis, Missouri.

The loss snapped a two fight win streak for the former UFC slugger. Prior to the Diaz fight, Smith lived up to his nickname by knocking out the hard-hitting Benji Radach with a little over a minute remaining in their three round slugfest. Smith was bruised and bloodied, but refused to back down and stunned “Razor” — and the rest of the crowd — with his thrilling come-from-behind win.

A win over Le would certainly recapture some of that momentum.

Strikeforce: “Evolution” is expected to feature an interesting match up of styles between Matt “The Law” Lindland (21-6) and  Ronald “Jacare” Souza (10-2). Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (5-0)  and Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2) are expected to be in action as well.

For the current Strikeforce: “Evolution” fight card click here.

CHICAGO, IL (Nov. 5th, 2009) – The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA), today announced it will sanction the STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global fight between undisputed WAMMA reigning heavyweight champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko and undefeated challenger, Brett “The Grim” Rogers, which will air live on CBS from Sears Centre Arena on Saturday, Nov 7th.

“It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this incredible fight card that our partners at STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global have put together,” said WAMMA Rankings Chairman, Andrew Falzon. “It is another landmark night for the sport on national television and a rare opportunity for fans nationally to see top WAMMA-ranked fighters compete on free TV.”

STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global have welcomed the presence of the WAMMA title at the milestone event, which will air live across the country on CBS Saturday Night Fights on Saturday, Nov. 7 (9:00 PM, ET live/ delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Fedor’s manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein said
“Recognizing Fedor as the undisputed WAMMA heavyweight champion means that Fedor is the world champion wherever and whenever he fights.”

“Putting a title on the line just provides the fighters with more incentive to perform at their best,” said Scott Coker, CEO of STRIKEFORCE.

In addition to sanctioning the main event, WAMMA will also be unveiling a new design for the championship belt, and a new logo, which will be featured on the fight surface during the live telecast.

“This is another sign of WAMMA’s new direction and continued commitment to moving the sport of MMA forward,” said Falzon. “We remain open to working with all promotions at all levels of MMA, so long as it is to the benefit of the sport.”

WAMMA publishes the sport’s most comprehensive rankings that include an extensive panel of independent MMA media including CBSSportsline.com, ESPN’s MMA Live!, Fox News Fight Game, FoxSports.com, MMA Fanhouse, Sirius Fight Club Radio, Sports Illustrated, The Calgary Sun Newspaper and The Fight Network.

WAMMA has published its official November Rankings today online at: www.GoWAMMA.com/rankings.

With the penultimate month of the year under way, World Victory Road (WVR) is set to host Sengoku: “Eleventh Battle” TONIGHT (Nov. 7) at the famed Sumo Hall, Ryogoku Kokugikan, in Tokyo, Japan.

This will be the final event before WVR inaugurates the new “Sengoku Raiden Championship” banner on New Year’s Eve.

Sengoku 11 will air LIVE via HDNet beginning at 2:00 AM ET.

Besides boasting several marquee names, the fight card also serves as a prelude to the year end event: With at least three title contests scheduled on NYE, several fighters on the card will enter the ring for high-stake battles to earn the title shots.

For those of you Maniacs following the fights as they go down (or those of you that are just along for the ride), go ahead and sound off in the comments section with any results, news, photos and videos — it’s an open thread, so go crazy.

Just try your hardest to keep it Sengoku related.

Be sure to check back a little later this morning for our results and complete recap. In the meantime, have at it.

We want to hear from you.

If you need to get up to speed on what’s happening with this card be sure to check out our comprehensive “Eleventh Battle” preview here.