Rogers: Overeem's Been ‘Hiding’ for Two Years

Brett Rogers seems well prepared to deal with a potential wave of naysayers who might question why the 29-year-old Minnesotan has been granted a title shot coming off of a loss.

Rogers will challenge 30-month absentee heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem at Strikeforce “St. Louis: Heavy Artillery” on May 15 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

“I would tell (naysayers) to recognize what’s going on the organization, recognize my opponents and understand that’s this isn’t something that just occurred,” Rogers recently told Sherdog.com in this exclusive video interview. “I’ve been going after (Overeem) for a good year or so, underground, online, calling him out to get him to come back to the States because he's been hiding (in Europe) for almost two years.”

Rogers, who notched his first career loss to Fedor Emelianenko with strikes in the second round at the promotion’s November “Fedor vs. Rogers” effort in Hoffmann Estates, Ill., also commented on the 6-foot-5 Golden Glory striker’s noticeable weight gain over the last two years, which Rogers refers to as Overeem’s “Eastern diet.”