THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Fedor Emelianenko stopped Brett Rogers in the second round in a Strikeforce M-1 Global heavyweight bout Saturday night.
Emelianenko (31-1) landed a right hook that sent Rogers (10-1) down to the mat, and the Russian followed with exchange of punches to the face of Rogers. Referee John McCarthy ended the fight at 1:48 in the second round.
The win didn't come easy for Emelianenko. He landed a left hook that knocked Rogers off balance in the first round, but Rogers landed a combination of punches that left blood smeared across Emelianenko's face.
The six-foot-five, 265-pound Rogers had the size advantage over Emelianenko and wanted to keep the fight on his feet, but Emelianenko at six-foot 235 beat Rogers at his own game by landing a series of uppercuts in the fight and not relying on his ground game.
Rogers had finished all of his previous fights by knockout, including one over Andrei Arlovski in June.
Emelianenko had won his last five fights in the first round until Saturday.
In an earlier heavyweight fight, Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1) defeated Antonio Silva in a 29-28 unanimous decision. The win may put Werdum in line to fight Emelianenko next.
Jake Shields won a five round unanimous decision over Jason (Mayhem) Miller for the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight title. Shields was saved by the bell in the third round when Miller had Shields in a rear-naked chokehold when the bell rang.
