Brett Charles Rogers (born February 17, 1981) is an American former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who most recently competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

division. A professional competitor since 2005, Rogers has fought in

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States-based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decemb ...

, Strikeforce, and Bellator.

Background

Rogers was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in the south and west sides of the city, also living in the Cabrini Green

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

, a notoriously dangerous and gang-infested neighborhood. Rogers also grew up in this area during the crack cocaine epidemic, which made the neighborhood especially dangerous. He would often come to the aid of one of his younger brothers during street fights and, because of his imposing size, Rogers was often recruited to be in gangs, but turned down the offers. When he was twelve years old, Rogers moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

with his grandmother. Rogers attended Harding High School in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

where he played football and basketball. Rogers then went on to attend a

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in ...

and began practicing

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

during this time. Before becoming a professional fighter, he had a job changing tires in a garage. Rogers had fifteen "Tough Man" bouts before going into professional mixed martial arts. Rogers began his MMA training with Team Bison in

Bloomington, MN Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer F ...

, in the garage of head trainer Mike Reilly. Currently, Rogers trains with "Ambition MMA" in a state-of-the-art training facility formed by Reilly and his partners in 2008. Rogers continues to train on a daily basis with Reilly. Rogers was charged in early 2011 with third degree assault on his wife and was immediately released from his Strikeforce contract.

Mixed martial arts career

Elite XC

In the EliteXC: Primetime post-fight press conference, Rogers called out internet sensation Kimbo Slice, stating that Kimbo's match with James Thompson was "garbage" and that Rogers believed Kimbo tapped to a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

in the first round. Kimbo Slice then stood up, telling Rogers, "That sounds like a challenge, big dog." Rogers then barked back, "It is. In the cage."

folded later that year, and a match between the two was never consummated.

Strikeforce

In February 2009, Rogers signed with Strikeforce. On June 6, 2009, at Strikeforce: Lawler vs Shields, he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

by TKO after 22 seconds of the opening round. This victory launched Rogers to the top of the list of heavyweights in Strikeforce and he agreed to fight MMA legend

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

on CBS in ''Fedor vs Rogers'' on November 7. In the second round Fedor hit Rogers with a hard overhand right that dropped Rogers to the ground and John McCarthy quickly stopped the bout, breaking Brett's undefeated record with a KO loss. Rogers was scheduled to face

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight C ...

on May 15, 2010 at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. After a great deal of discussions on whether or not the bout would be for Overeem's Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship, it was confirmed on March 29 that the title would indeed be on the line. On May 15, 2010, Rogers lost to Overeem via TKO (strikes) at 3:40 of round one, landing only one punch in the entire fight according to CompuStrike. Rogers picked up a win against Ruben Villareal by decision in the W-1 promotion. Brett Rogers was defeated via a one arm triangle choke submission by

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnett p ...

on June 18, 2011 at Strikeforce: Dallas as part of an eight-man heavyweight tournament.

Independent promotions

Rogers made his return to MMA at Titan Fighting Championships 20 against UFC veteran

Eddie Sanchez Eduardo Arturo Sanchez (born November 4, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2004, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Titan FC, Final Fight Championship, ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Rogers was expected to fight Dave Keeley at M-1 Global - Korea on August 17, 2013. The fight didn't happen because the event was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Bellator Fighting Championships

On June 5, 2012 it was announced that Rogers had signed a deal with

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. ...

. He made his debut on June 22, 2012 at

Bellator 71 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

against Kevin Asplund and won the bout by TKO after Asplund's eye closed up between rounds, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Rogers competed in the Bellator season seven heavyweight tournament and faced Alexander Volkov in the quarter finals at

Bellator 75 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...

. Volkov dominated the fight by making the most of his reach advantage. Rogers lost via unanimous decision. It was later revealed that Rogers had broken his arm during the fight, leading to his poor performance. Rogers was scheduled to face

Eric Prindle Eric Prindle (born August 30, 1976) is an American Heavyweight mixed martial artist who last competed in 2018. A professional competitor since 2008 he has fought in Bellator MMA and Pancrase, and was the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tourname ...

Bellator 93 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

on March 21 but the fight was cancelled when Prindle pulled out.

Independent promotions

After leaving Bellator, Rogers next fought at FEFoMP: Mayor Cup 2013 against Evgeny Erokhin on October 5. He won the fight by split decision. His next fight was at Super Fighting Enterprise where he faced Edson Ramos on November 30. He won by knockout to become the SFE Heavyweight Champion, the first championship of his career. One month later, he fought at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2013 where he faced

Phil De Fries Philip De Fries (born 21 April 1986) is a British mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. A professional competitor since 2009, De Fries has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator, an ...

. He lost the fight by submission. In his next bout, Rogers faced up-and-coming

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n prospect Konstantin Erokhin at Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 15 on March 28, 2014. Rogers lost via unanimous decision. Rogers' next appearance was at Inoki Genome Fight 1 on April 4, 2014, against Yusuke Kawaguchi. Rogers won the bout via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in just 28 seconds. On May 17, 2014, Rogers faced Evgeny Erokhin in a rematch at FEFoMP- Mayor Cup 2014. Rogers was knocked out with a right hook to the chin in the later stages of round two. The following July, Rogers faced Magomed Malikov at Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 16. Rogers won via TKO when Malikov broke his leg while attempting a right low kick in the second round. Rogers faced Denis Goltsov on September 19, 2014, at Tech-Krep FC: PRIME 3. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Rogers faced Aslambek Musaev on October 4, 2014, at ACB 10: Coliseum Time. He won via TKO in the first round.

Personal life

In September 2011, Rogers pleaded guilty to domestic abuse for choking his wife and repeatedly punching her to unconsciousness in June 2011. Rogers’s children could not stop him and his oldest daughter told the police that Rogers would not only beat his wife, but also beat his children. Rogers received 60 days and nights in jail, three years' probation and a $500 fine. Rogers was arrested for sexual misconduct after allegedly groping two men in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

according to criminal complaints obtained from Minnesota Second Judicial District Court. On November 15, 2016 at the George Latimer Central Library, Rogers grabbed the crotch area of a library employee’s pants and penis while riding the elevator. The man reportedly slapped Rogers’s hand away and asked what he was doing. Rogers said nothing to the man and left the elevator as soon as the door opened. In another incident on November 22, 2016, Rogers grabbed a man’s hand and pulled it toward his groin after asking the man if he wanted to go hang out or go to an apartment Rogers lived in. On January 4, 2017, Rogers asked a man next to his urinal stall to go into another stall for a sex act to be performed on him from Rogers. After the man declined, Rogers grabbed the man's buttocks as he was still using the urinal. The man made a quick exit and later called the police and had a written statement filed. While at the Ramsey County Jail, a former cellmate also accused Rogers of sexual assault. Rogers allegedly groped his cellmate’s penis through the prison uniform pants twice while the cellmate slept. The cellmate did not call for the guards, because he feared Rogers would hurt him, describing Rogers as “the biggest and strongest dude in the jail”. Rogers told jail officers that he tapped the cellmate’s leg, but he did not fondle him. Rogers said that when he talks to people, he touches or taps them, referring to it as “a black thing.”

Championships and accomplishments

*Super Fighting Enterprise **SFE Heavyweight Championship (1 Time, Current) *Other ** Fought in the First Ever MMA Fight in Primetime on a Major American Television Network

Mixed martial arts record

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Derrick Mehmen Derrick Mehmen (born May 30, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division for the Titan Fighting Championships. A professional competitor since 2006, Mehmen has also made appearances in S ...

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Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

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Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Brett American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Illinois Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo African-American mixed martial artists Living people 1981 births Sportspeople from Chicago American male taekwondo practitioners American people convicted of assault 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Elite XC

Strikeforce

Independent promotions

Bellator Fighting Championships

Independent promotions

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References