Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers: "For me, now, it's about building respect"

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

Undefeated Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers (9-0) wrapped up his April win over Ron Humphrey by telling anyone that would listen that he was ready for bigger and better challenges.

When his June 6 co-main event bout with Andrei Arlovski (15-6) at "Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields" in St. Louis was announced, many believed Rogers might have gone just a little too far up the heavyweight ladder.

But in a recent media call promoting the event, Rogers said he got exactly what he wanted.

"This is definitely going to be a step up in class," Rogers said. "Arlovski has been in the game for quite some time, and he has plenty of experience. (But) those are the type of fighters I'm trying to fight from here on out.

"For me, now, it's about building respect. I feel like I don't have it, so fighting Arlovski is going to be a fun and challenging event."

"Fun" and "challenging" might not be the words most would use to describe Arlovski. "Pitbull" has faced some of the best fighters in the world in his 10-year career, including wins over Roy Nelson, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Marcio Cruz, Paul Buentello, Tim Sylvia and Vladimir Matyushenko.

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