Brian Rogers (fighter)

Brian Rogers (born February 15, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, Rogers formerly competed for Bellator and Strikeforce.

Brian Rogers
Born (1984-02-15) February 15, 1984 (age 40)
Kent, Ohio, United States
Other namesThe Professional Predator
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight205.3 lb (93.1 kg; 14.66 st)
DivisionLight Heavyweight
Middleweight
Reach73 in (185 cm)[1]
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofIndependence, Ohio, United States
TeamVictory Martial Arts (formerly)[2]
Strong Style Fight Team (2007–2014)[2][3]
Factory X Muay Thai (2014–present)[3]
RankBrown belt in Isshin-ryū Karate[2]
Purple Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Years active2008–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total23
Wins14
By knockout10
By submission2
By decision2
Losses9
By knockout4
By decision5
UniversityWalsh University
University of Akron
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

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Rogers was born and grew up in Kent, Ohio.[2] He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School where he wrestled, played football and threw the shot disc.[2] After high school, he was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter as inside linebacker for the Walsh University Cavaliers between 2002 and 2005. Rogers was named All-Conference by the Mid States Football Association twice and left Walsh University second all time in career tackles.[4] Rogers graduated with undergraduate degree in education and started training mixed martial arts in 2006.[2] He later graduated with master's degree in education from University of Akron.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Rogers started his professional MMA career at 1–2 with both losses coming by decision. He followed the slow start to his professional MMA career with 7 consecutive victories, all by first-round KO/TKO which included wins in both his Strikeforce and Bellator debuts.[6]

Strikeforce

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Rogers made his Strikeforce debut on March 5, 2011, at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson where he defeated Ian Rammel by TKO in the first round.[7]

Bellator MMA

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On May 21, 2011, it was announced that Rogers will be taking part in the Bellator Season Five Middleweight Tournament which begins on September 17, 2011.[8] Rogers defeated Victor O'Donnell via TKO in the quarterfinal round at Bellator 50. In the semifinal round, Rogers lost to Alexander Shlemenko via TKO in the second round at Bellator 54.

On January 9, 2012, Rogers was announced as the first of eight participants in Bellator's Season 6 Middleweight Tournament. In the opening round, he faced Vitor Vianna on March 16, 2012, at Bellator 61 and won via KO in the first round. The knockout received incredible media and fan attention and has since had over 12k views on YouTube as one of Bellator's most popular videos in the promotion's history.

Rogers was scheduled to face Bruno Santos in the semifinal round of the Middleweight Tournament at Bellator 66. However, on April 16, 2012, it was revealed that Santos had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Bellator newcomer Andreas Spang.[9] After dominating most of the first two rounds, he was caught by a counter left hook which resulted in a KO loss.

In January 2013, Bellator announced Rogers as a competitor in the Season Eight Middleweight tournament. His Quarterfinal fight took place at Bellator 89 against Dan Cramer. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Rogers then participated in Bellator's Season Nine Middleweight tournament. The Quarterfinal bout took place on September 7, 2013, at Bellator 98 against Mikkel Parlo. Rogers lost via unanimous decision.[10]

Rogers was scheduled to face Gary Tapusoa on March 21, 2014, at Bellator 113, however, the bout was cancelled when Tapusoa could not meet the requirements to fight.[11] Rogers was set to face Johan Romming at Bellator 119 on May 9, 2014, however, the bout was cancelled when Romming pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.[12] Rogers faced Adrian Miles at Bellator 119 and won via flying knee KO in the second round.[13]

Rogers was expected to face James Irvin on September 19, 2014, at Bellator 125.[14] However, Irvin pulled out of the bout due to injury and was replaced with Brett Cooper.[15] Cooper then suffered a foot injury and pulled out of the bout, so Rogers faced promotional newcomer Rafael Carvalho.[16] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Rogers faced Joey Beltran at Bellator 136 on April 10, 2015.[17] He lost the fight by split decision.

Rogers next moved to the Light Heavyweight division and faced Virgil Zwicker on December 4, 2015, at Bellator 147.[18] He won the fight via submission in the second round.

Rogers faced UFC vet Alessio Sakara at Bellators first event in Italy on April 16, 2016, at Bellator 152.[19] He lost via knockout in the second round.

Personal life

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Rogers spent the majority of his mma career training in Independence Ohio at Strong Style MMA. Strong Style MMA is home to the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic. Other Strong Style UFC Veterans include Jessica Eye, Forrest Petz, Jeff Cox and Dan Bobish.

Rogers, an Ohio Native moved from his home state to Denver, Colorado in January 2014, to further his mma career. Rogers has not competed since March 2017. Rogers is now a business development and marketing professional.

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
23 matches 14 wins 9 losses
By knockout 10 4
By submission 2 0
By decision 2 5
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 14–9 Canaan Grigsby Decision (unanimous) Paramount MMA 7 March 24, 2017 3 5:00 Denver, Colorado, United States Won the vacant Paramount MMA Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 13–9 Lewis Rumsey TKO (punch) RFO Big Guns 22 January 28, 2017 1 1:00 Mansfield, Ohio, United States Catchweight bout of 220 lbs.
Loss 12–9 Alessio Sakara KO (punches) Bellator 152 April 16, 2016 2 2:29 Torino, Italy
Win 12–8 Virgil Zwicker Submission (arm-triangle choke) Bellator 147 December 4, 2015 2 4:38 San Jose, California, United States Light Heavyweight debut.
Loss 11–8 Joey Beltran Decision (majority) Bellator 136 April 10, 2015 3 5:00 Irvine, California, United States
Loss 11–7 Rafael Carvalho TKO (punches) Bellator 125 September 19, 2014 1 3:06 Fresno, California, United States
Win 11–6 Adrian Miles KO (flying knee) Bellator 119 May 9, 2014 2 1:29 Rama, Ontario, Canada
Loss 10–6 Mikkel Parlo Decision (unanimous) Bellator 98 September 7, 2013 3 5:00 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Loss 10–5 Dan Cramer Decision (unanimous) Bellator 89 February 14, 2013 3 5:00 Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Bellator Season Eight Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win 10–4 Dominique Steele Decision (unanimous) Bellator 78 October 26, 2012 3 5:00 Dayton, Ohio, United States
Loss 9–4 Andreas Spang KO (punch) Bellator 66 April 20, 2012 2 3:34 Cleveland, Ohio, United States Bellator Season Six Middleweight Tournament Semifinal.
Win 9–3 Vitor Vianna KO (flying knee) Bellator 61 March 16, 2012 1 4:14 Bossier City, Louisiana, United States Bellator Season Six Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Loss 8–3 Alexander Shlemenko TKO (knees) Bellator 54 October 15, 2011 2 2:30 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Bellator Season Five Middleweight Tournament Semifinal.
Win 8–2 Victor O'Donnell TKO (head kick and punches) Bellator 50 September 17, 2011 1 1:56 Hollywood, Florida, United States Bellator Season Five Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win 7–2 Ian Rammel TKO (punches) Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson March 5, 2011 1 4:23 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win 6–2 Robert Conner TKO (flying knee and punches) BUCB: Pride and Glory January 15, 2011 1 3:07 Parma, Ohio, United States
Win 5–2 Marcus Reynolds TKO (punches) BUCB: Raging Bull October 23, 2010 1 1:32 Parma, Ohio, United States
Win 4–2 Jason Jones TKO (kick to the body and punch) NAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats 6 June 5, 2010 1 0:52 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win 3–2 Neal Craft TKO (punches) NAAFS: Caged Fury 10 March 27, 2010 1 2:21 Uhrichsville, Ohio, United States
Win 2–2 Dan Bolden KO (flying knee) NAAFS: North Coast Showdown 4 October 24, 2009 1 1:14 Toledo, Ohio, United States
Loss 1–2 Valter Roberto De Menezes Decision (unanimous) Shine Fights 1: Genesis May 9, 2009 3 5:00 Columbus, Ohio, United States Middleweight debut.
Win 1–1 Willie Smalls Submission (triangle choke) NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 2 August 23, 2008 1 2:34 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss 0–1 Daniel Akinyemi Decision (unanimous) Iron Ring February 18, 2008 3 5:00 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

References

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  1. ^ "Brian Rogers ("The Professional Predator") | MMA Fighter Page".
  2. ^ a b c d e f Scott Swerbinsky (August 1, 2007). "A Sitdown With The Predator". danwismar.com.
  3. ^ a b Michael Stets (September 19, 2014). "Bellator 125: Brian Rogers looking for 'big fights and bigger checks'". mmamania.com.
  4. ^ "Affordable Hosting Plans - Dedicated Web Support | Lunarpages Web Hosting". Musclebasix.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  5. ^ "Bellator 152: Brian Rogers, Road To Torino (Weeks 4-6)". themmacommunity.com. April 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "Brian Rogers (11-6-0) Official Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Profile". Mixedmartialarts.com. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  7. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120320161801/http://www.gatewaymma.com/ohio/2011/03/02/brian-rogers-cool-calm-collected-prior-to-strikeforce-debut/. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ "Ohio Fighter Brian 'The Predator' Rogers Latest Addition to Bellator Middleweight Tourney". MMAWeekly.com. May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  9. ^ "Andreas Spang replaces injured Bruno Santos in Bellator 66 tournament semifinals". MMAJunkie.com. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  10. ^ "Bellator 98 results: Shlemenko retains title in slugfest with Cooper". mmajunkie.com. September 8, 2013.
  11. ^ "Brian Rogers vs. Gary Tapusoa scratched from tomorrow's Bellator 113". themmareport.com. March 20, 2014.
  12. ^ "Johan Romming out of Bellator 119 bout against Brian Rogers, Bellator searching for a new opponent". themmareport.com. April 17, 2014.
  13. ^ "Bellator 119 Results: Weichel vs. Green". mmafighting.com. May 9, 2014.
  14. ^ "Manhoef vs. Marshall Headline Bellator 125". bellator.com. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014.
  15. ^ "James Irvin out, Brian Rogers meets Brett Cooper at Bellator 125". mmajunkie.com. August 29, 2014.
  16. ^ "Brett Cooper suffers foot injury; Brian Rogers to fight Rafael Carvalho at Bellator 125". sherdog.com. September 9, 2014.
  17. ^ Staff (March 5, 2015). "Bellator 136 gets five new fights, including Held vs. Sarnavskiy, Beltran vs. Rogers". mmajunkie.com.
  18. ^ "Bellator 147 Fight Card". bellator.com. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "Brian Rogers vs Alessio Sakara set for Bellator 152 in Italy". mmajunkie.com. January 15, 2016.
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