Rogers gets KO over Thompson

Heavyweight Brett Rogers stopped British fighter James Thompson (14-8) at the EliteXC-Street Certified show last night in Miami to improve his record to 6-0. Rogers caught Thompson, a veteran of Pride and Cage Rage, with a knee to the chin and followed up with five brutal strikes to the head before Thompson fell to the mat and ended the fight at 2:24 of the first round.

Thompson is the biggest name to date on the undefeated resume of Rogers. Having fought seven career fights for Pride, Thompson has faced opponents like Don Frye, Hidehiko Yoshida, Kazuyuki Fajita, Giant Silva, and Aleksander Emelianenko.

Rogers has now won two fights for the EliteXC promotion after beginning his career in Minnesota with four straight wins by knockout. Rogers defeated Ralph Kelly at the EliteXC-Renegade show last November.

Sherk to defend title

UFC Lightweight champion Sean Sherk (31-2-1) is set to defend his title for the first time at UFC 73. His opponent, Hermes Franca (18-5), has won his past eight fights to earn the title shot.

Sherk trains at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn Center.

UFC 73 will be held in Sacramento on July 7, 2007. It can be seen live on pay-per-view.

Huerta is victorious at TUF5 finale

Minneapolis resident Roger "El Matador" Huerta won his fourth straight UFC fight on June 23, 2007 at The Ultimate Fighter 5 finale on Spike TV. The lightweight defeated previously undefeated fighter Doug Evans (Anchorage, AK) to improve his record to 20-1-1.

The former Augsburg College (2002-03) wrestler made his UFC debut at UFC 63 in September of 2006 with a unanimous decision over Jason Dent. Victories over John Halverson and Leonard Garcia have put the 155-pound fighter in the UFC lightweight title picture.

The May 22, 2007 Sports Illustrated cover boy started off slow in the first round, but came out strong to begin the second round. After an Evans takedown was reversed by Huerta, the Dave Menne trained MMA athlete unleashed several unanswered strikes before referee Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout at 3:30 of the second round.