Originally Posted by MMAJunkie

Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers added to June 6 Strikeforce event


To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


Strikeforce has added some heavyweight talent to its June 6 fight card.

Undefeated Brett Rogers (9-0) will meet former UFC champion and recent Affliction fighter Andrei Arlovski (15-6) on the night's main card, which airs live on Showtime.

The bout was officially announced today at a press conference in St. Louis and completes the official lineup for the card.

The city's Scottrade Center hosts the June 6 event, which features a main event between former EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler and former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields (at a catch-weight of 182 pounds).

The booking should surprise fans who were expecting a title fight between Strikeforce world heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and Rogers. Rogers, a former top EliteXC heavyweight, recently moved to Strikeforce and said he wanted a real challenge in his next fight.

He'll get one in Arlovski, who – despite a loss to Fedor Emelianenko in January – remains one of the world's top 10 heavyweight fighters. Even with the loss, Arlovski is 5-1 in his past six fights, which included three straight victories in the UFC before he left the organization.

Arlovski was slated to make his professional boxing debut on June 27, though his Strikeforce booking will likely keep that bout from happening.

The full fight card now includes:

MAIN CARD

•Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields
•Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith
•Kevin Randleman vs. Mike Whitehead
•Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs
•Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers

PRELIMINARY CARD

•Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante vs. Jared Hamman
•Josh Bumgarner vs. Jesse Finney
•Tyron Woodley vs. Sal Woods
•Lucas Lopes vs. Scott Ventimiglia
•Pat Benson vs. Dave Cochran
•Booker DeRousse vs. James Wade