Head to Head

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers hits the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Saturday, Nov. 7, airing live on CBS at 9 p.m. ET. In the main event of the show co-promoted by Strikeforce and M-1 Global, Fedor Emelianenko puts his status as the best heavyweight fighter in the world to the test against Brett "The Grim" Rogers. Also on the show, Jake Shields fights Jason "Mayhem" Miller to crown a new Strikeforce middleweight champion.

To help you get ready for Strikeforce on CBS, CBSSports.com gives you a complete look at each fight on the broadcast, with roundtable fight analysis and predictions. Take a look, and then discuss your own picks on the message board at the bottom of this page.

Fighter photos courtesy of Strikeforce.

Heavyweight Bout:
	FEDOR EMELIANENKO	vs.	BRETT ROGERS
	"The Last Emperor"	Nickname	"The Grim"
	33	Age	28
	6-0	Height	6-5
	30-1-1	Record	10-0-0
	7	KO/TKOs	9
	16	Submissions	1
	10 wins	Streak	10 wins
	def. Andrei Arlovski Affliction 1/24/2009	Last Fight	def. Andrei Arlovski Strikeforce 6/6/2009

Writers' Picks
Denny Burkholder: Anytime you have a fighter like Rogers with one-punch knockout power, an upset is possible. Rogers doesn't have to be the better all-around fighter to catch a guy, one time, right on the button, and put his lights out. But in order to do that, Rogers will need to find a way to force Fedor -- the best heavyweight fighter in the world -- to let his guard down and trade strikes recklessly. Even under those circumstances, Emelianenko is more than capable of scoring the KO himself. And obviously, if the fight goes to the ground, Rogers is absolute toast. Rogers hasn't gone three rounds in his career, and he won't start now. Emelianenko wins via submission, Round 1.	Todd Martin: I think people are perhaps giving Rogers less credit than he deserves, because he has big time power and Fedor has been playing a dangerous game of striking with strikers of late. But ultimately, Fedor is such a well balanced fighter. He may well be able to beat Rogers in the standup and he certainly has the advantage on the ground where Rogers has never really been tested. As such, he's got the significantly better chance of winning.	Ben Fowlkes: Rogers has one chance to win this fight, and it resides in his right hand. If he can put that thing on Fedor's chin, maybe – just maybe – he can shock the world on network TV. His odds of accomplishing that feat, however, are slim. I think Fedor will be too quick for Rogers on the feet and worlds ahead of him on the mat, should he decide to take it there. He has several different ways to win this fight, while Rogers really only has one. I expect Fedor to pick Rogers apart with his speed in the opening minutes, then take him down from the clinch and submit him without much difficulty. It shouldn't take more than a round, either.	Gary Herman: Is there any possible way not to take Emelianenko in this fight? No, there isn't. I'm tired of hearing "well, Rogers has a puncher's chance" because so did every other fighter that Fedor stepped in the ring with. They all lost. There's a reason for that, and it is, simply put, Fedor is the best fighter in the history of the sport. Rogers will not make history. He'll be history. Fedor wins by first round submission.

Strikeforce Middleweight Title Bout:
	JAKE SHIELDS	vs.	JASON MILLER
	n/a	Nickname	"Mayhem"
	30	Age	28
	5-11	Height	6-1
	23-4-1	Record	22-6-1
	3	KO/TKOs	4
	10	Submissions	13
	12 wins	Streak	1 no contest
	def. Robbie Lawler Strikeforce 6/6/2009	Last Fight	NC Ronaldo Souza Dream 9 5/26/2009

Writers' Picks
Denny Burkholder: The host and star of MTV's Bully Beatdown, "Mayhem" is one of the most charismatic fighters in any MMA promotion. His cage walk alone might be reason enough to tune in to this show, if his past entrances are any indication. The problem is that Miller is strong in all areas, but Shields is, too. Shields has won 12 in a row, most recently tapping out Robbie Lawler in just over 2 minutes. He's got a clear advantage on the ground and should hold his own standing, so the pick here is Shields via submission, Round 2.	Todd Martin: This is a really bad fight for Miller. Miller is a good striker and may be slightly better standing than Shields, but he doesn't have the sort of power that presents real danger for Shields. On the ground, Miller is good but not in Shields' league. If Miller is able to avoid a submission (and that's a big if), he's not getting the decision. This is Shields' fight.	Ben Fowlkes: "Mayhem" Miller is about as electric a personality as you can find in this sport, and, as anyone who has read his work in Fight Magazine already knows, a surprisingly cerebral guy as well. But while Miller does a lot of things well as a fighter, Shields is a specialist. His ground game is suffocating and very near unavoidable. Miller's no slouch on the mat, so he should be able to avoid a submission, but I think he'll be relegated to playing defense for the bulk of this fight and won't have a chance to threaten Shields with anything serious. Shields via decision.	Gary Herman: Shields and Miller will make a very interesting fight. Miller is the type of fighter that is extremely difficult to submit. He's only been submitted once in 27 fights, and that was over seven years ago. That severely limits the jiu-jitsu wizardry of Shields. Shields' only way to win will be by decision. On the other hand, Miller is a much more well-rounded fighter. He's capable of a knockout or submission at anytime. While I believe Shields is the better fighter, Miller is a terrible match-up for him. In the fight of the night, Jason Miller pulls the upset with a unanimous decision win.

Light Heavyweight Bout:
	GEGARD MOUSASI	vs.	RAMEAU SOKOUDJOU
	"The Dreamcatcher"	Nickname	"African Assassin"
	24	Age	25
	6-1	Height	6-0
	26-2-1	Record	7-4-0
	15	KO/TKOs	6
	9	Submissions	0
	13 wins	Streak	2 wins
	def. Renato Sobral Strikeforce 8/15/2009	Last Fight	def. Bob Sapp Dream 11 10/6/2009

Writers' Picks
Denny Burkholder: This fight is very similar to Emelianenko vs. Rogers in terms of the skills of each man. Simply put, Sokoudjou can only win this fight with a knockout. Sokoudjou will get smoked in a hurry if the fight goes to the ground, but he's also in danger striking (which is typically where he is most comfortable). Mousasi is an amazing talent who should win in the first round for the fifth consecutive time. Mousasi via submission, Round 1.	Todd Martin: Mousasi is a better striker than Sokoudjou, and a better submission artist. Sokoudjou's only real chance is to win the positioning game, but he has never done that in the past and he doesn't have great cardio for it. All that adds up to trouble for the African Assassin. He may be able to hang early in the standup, but Mousasi will over time take over and score the TKO win.	Ben Fowlkes: This has the potential to be an even more one-sided fight than the main event. Mousasi is an absolute beast in the light heavyweight division, and Sokoudjou has shown himself to be good for very little aside from beating up on Super Hulks of late. Sokoudjou looked hopeless against "Babalu" Sobral, who Mousasi just recently dismantled. There's really no reason to think this will be competitive at all, so instead think of it as another chance for Mousasi to put on a show for the American fans who still have no idea how good he is. He won't disappoint. TKO win for the "Dream Catcher," first round.	Gary Herman: Over the past year-and-a-half, all Mousasi has done is defeat Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo Souza, Mark Hunt, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral. And, Mousasi finished all of the fights by knockout or submission. That is definitely one of the more impressive runs the sport has seen. Now, he takes on an over-hyped and under talented Sokoudjou. His last big win came over two years ago against Ricardo Arona. Since then, Sokoudjou has been living off the two-fight legend he built in Pride FC (wins over Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira). He's done nothing to prove those wins weren't a fluke, and he won't do anything again here. Is Mousasi the best light heavyweight in the world? No, but he'll get one step closer to the top. Mousasi wins by second round TKO.

Heavyweight Bout:
	FABRICIO WERDUM	vs.	ANTONIO SILVA
	"Vai Cavalo"	Nickname	"Bigfoot"
	32	Age	30
	6-4	Height	6-4
	12-4-1	Record	13-1-0
	4	KO/TKOs	9
	7	Submissions	3
	1 win	Streak	6 wins
	def. Mike Kyle Strikeforce 8/15/2009	Last Fight	def. Jim York Sengoku 10 9/23/2009

Writers' Picks
Denny Burkholder: Silva has just one loss in his MMA career, but I believe Werdum will be his biggest test yet. Werdum has vastly improved his standup, and if that fails him, he's still excellent with his jiu-jitsu. Silva is well-trained by American Top Team and is one of the more well-rounded heavyweights you'll see. He's still improving as a fighter, but I think Werdum wins this one. He just looked a lot better in his most recent win over Mike Kyle. Silva presents a much different challenge from Kyle, but I still choose Werdum via unanimous decision.	Todd Martin: This is a good matchup for Silva. His strength and power makes him a hard fighter to take down. He has better standup than Werdum. And even if it goes to the ground, he's got a pretty good ground game. For those reasons, I like Silva to score the upset here and throw a monkey wrench in Werdum's plans for an eventual fight with Fedor Emelianenko.	Ben Fowlkes: On paper, Werdum should win this match-up every time. He's quicker than Silva and has a definite edge with submissions. His big problem is that he tends to get a little sloppy and leave himself open at times, which Silva absolutely has the power to capitalize on. As long as Werdum fights smart and stays patient, he'll take this one via late submission.	Gary Herman: Due to the seeming unlikelihood of Alistair Overeem ever fighting in the United States again, Werdum vs. Silva is a fight to see who gets the next crack at Emelianenko (assuming he beats Rogers). Werdum is a talented jiu-jitsu fighter, but recently, he has had difficulty with powerful strikers. Both Junior Dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski were able to defeat Werdum. Mike Kyle even briefly looked good before his ineptitude on the ground was exposed. Like Werdum, Silva's also a very good jiu-jitsu fighter, but Silva has a big size advantage, and that will give Werdum problems. Silva gets the spot in the next CBS main event with a second round TKO win.

About the writers:
Denny Burkholder is the NFL co-producer and MMA and boxing producer for CBSSports.com.
Todd Martin has covered mixed martial arts for the Los Angeles Times, Wrestling Observer, SI.com and CBSSports.com.
Ben Fowlkes is an MMA contributor for SI.com and CagePotato.com.
Gary Herman has covered mixed martial arts for CBSSports.com and several other publications.