Strikeforce champ waits for Emelianenko

The first step is out of the way for Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who easily defeated Brett Rogers in the main event of a card in St. Louis on Saturday night.

Now comes the hard part.

Overeem has been pleading for a fight with Fedor Emelianenko. But Overeem now has to wait and see if the Russian superstar can defeat Fabricio Werdum on June 26 and then whether Emelianenko's handlers will agree to the bout at some point later this year.

After stopping Rogers by throwing him to the ground and pounding him out in just 3:40, Overeem again expressed his desire to fight the man generally considered the best heavyweight in the world.

Overeem accuses Emelianenko's representatives of avoiding him and taking on Werdum instead of fighting for Overeem's belt, which caused the champion to defend his title against Rogers, who had lost to Emelianenko.

"His management declined to fight me tonight," Overeem said immediately after the victory. "Respect for Brett because he stood up and wanted to fight me like a man. I think now it's Fedor's time."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker knows it would be a big fight but didn't sound convinced Emelianenko's management would jump at the opportunity. He also pointed out there is still another opponent in the way.

"Alistair has told me many times he would like to fight Fedor," Coker said during the postfight news conference. "He has called Fedor out in Japan when he fights in Japan all the time, so he's looking forward to that fight. It has to be something that we sit down with M-1 (Emelianenko's representatives) after the June 26 fight, but I don't think you can count out Fabricio."

Also on Saturday night, Antonio Silva scored a unanimous decision over Andrei Arlovski, and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza picked up a unanimous decision victory over Joey Villasenor.

■ UFC COMES TO ROKU -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced a deal Monday with Roku, a streaming media player that allows users to access content on their television without a cable or satellite connection.

The deal not only gives Roku users the ability to purchase UFC pay-per-view events through the Internet without the use of a computer but also provides archived fights, countdown shows, weigh-ins and news conferences through the UFC channel.

Roku, which also has content agreements with Major League Baseball and the NBA, is available through the purchase of a receiver that starts around $80. The UFC channel will be available for a subscription, probably around $60 for six months.

The first pay-per-view event available on the service will be UFC 114, which features a main event of Rashad Evans against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on May 29. The cost will be the same as with traditional pay-per-view providers.

■ SONNEN PRIMARY TODAY -- Chael Sonnen will have a difficult task on his hands when he fights Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 117 in August.

His task today is far less daunting.

The veteran mixed martial artist is running for a seat in Oregon's state legislature, and the primary takes place today.

Sonnen, however, is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

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