Why does Brett Rogers get a title shot before Fedor Emelianenko?

Does Brett Rogers deserve a title shot? His last fight was a KO loss to Fedor Emelianenko. Before that he literally turned new Strikeforce fighter Andrei Arlovski into the punchline of a joke that took all of 22 seconds to tell. And before that he flattened a few cans. Nine of them, to be precise.

But is that enough to earn him a shot at Alistair Overeem’s long-undefended heavyweight belt? Especially when the man who beat him, Fedor, is far more deserving?

There’s something more to the rumour that I reported on a couple of days ago that Rogers will get exactly that when Overeem makes his return to Strikeforce in May after more than two years spent fighting for other promotions.

I’d understand if Rogers was just a tune-up fight for Overeem and not a title fight. Okay, I wouldn’t. It’s not as though Overeem hasn’t been active. He’s fought seven times since winning the Strikeforce championship in 2007 and has packed on a ton of suspicious muscle.

Overeem should be defending his belt. I just don’t see why Rogers gets the call. I’m sure wanting to keep his name in the spotlight is part of the reason. And a loss to Fedor is no black mark on anybody’s record. But to come off of a huge loss to face one of the most-feared striker’s in the sport for a belt? That doesn’t sit right.

Meanwhile, Fedor is getting two tune-up fights (he’ll face Fabricio Werdum, possibly on the same card as the Overeem-Rogers tilt) before a title shot. It’s smart in terms of milking the Russian’s marketability and building up expectations, but in the MMA game it’s about giving the fans what they want when they want it.

Look at the UFC – folks wanted to see Brock Lesnar fight for a title so he gets his shot in just his fourth bout. Vitor Belfort was a more marketable match-up for middleweight champ Anderson Silva than any of the other contenders so he gets a shot, even though Belfort had never fought at 185 pounds in the UFC.

Fans want to see Fedor fight for the title. He’s 32-1 (1) and he beat Rogers. It’s ridiculous to keep him on the sidelines. Maybe this has something to do with it.