Hobby sprouts into livelihood

That’s also about how long it took for the victory to happen.

Rogers knocked out the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion in 22 seconds in June, and his life changed forever.

Just before the fight, he quit his job changing tires at Sam’s Club. The sponsorships and offers that would come his way as a result of the win meant Rogers could make a career out of mixed martial arts.

“I knew it was going to change my life right after that win,” said the 28-year-old father of three, who dashed triumphantly around the cage after the knockout. “Right after that, life changed. I had interviews to do, offers for movies and TV shows. It was crazy.”

Rogers can solidify a lucrative career Saturday night when he takes on Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of a Strikeforce card from Chicago on CBS.

Emelianenko, who’s 30-1 with the lone loss coming because of a cut, remains an unknown quantity in the United States, but he widely is considered the world’s best heavyweight fighter.

Rogers said he will avoid getting caught up in the mystique that surrounds the Russian star — a mistake that he thinks others make against Emelianenko, who is more than a 6-1 favorite.

“In the long run, he’s just another fighter. I’m not going into this fight like I’m fighting Fedor,” Rogers said. “I’m going in just fighting another man. That probably scares him.”

It’s easy to understand why Rogers wouldn’t be intimidated. He spent a portion of his early childhood in the notorious Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago before his grandmother moved him to Minnesota at age 12. Rogers credits that decision with putting him on a path to success. Otherwise, he thinks he might have ended up in a gang.

Once settled in a more stable environment, the 6-foot-5-inch, 280-pound Rogers thrived in athletics in high school and played junior college basketball.

Then he found MMA.

“When I first started, it was basically just a hobby,” he said. “Now, I’m about to fight the number one guy in the world.”

That’s the title Rogers wants for himself.

“My hopes are just to become the best heavyweight in the world,” he said. “There are a lot of guys that people think are better than me. I hope to take them out one at a time.”

Rogers has built a 10-0 record, and only two opponents have made it out of the first round. Both were beaten early in the second round.

“One of his great advantages is his fairly strong knockout punch,” Emelianenko said through a translator on a conference call. “I know Brett is a serious opponent.”

Rogers has been able to shift his focus entirely to training the past six months.

For 51/2 years, he had to find time to work in training sessions and fights between odd shifts at Sam’s Club and various other part-time jobs he took on to support his wife and three children.

Now, he is able to provide for them through fighting alone. He has purchased his first home in a St. Paul, Minn., suburb with the money he will make Saturday night.

“I love them to death. They’re my motivation,” he said of his 9- and 8-year-old daughters and 5-year-old son. “There’s not a second that goes by that I’m not thinking about them when I’m in the cage.”

Rogers said his children are among his biggest fans.

“They understand that Daddy is a fighter and this is what he does. They tell me, ‘Daddy, go kick his butt,’ ” he said. “They know I’m fighting this weekend. My grandma is taking care of them. I’m pretty sure they will sit around and watch it.”

The card, which also features a middleweight title bout between Jake Shields and Jason “Mayhem” Miller, will air tape delayed at 9 p.m.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.