With all the promotional mess and contract negotiations it's ashame we don't get to see Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) more often. He's only fought four times in the last 35 months. That may be the reason, he's dropped to No. 3 in the Yahoo! Sports' MMA pound-for-pound rankings (Cagewriter still has him No. 1). Or could it be all of Dana White's bashing that has affected those who formerly favored the Russian as the world's best?

Real MMA fans and bettors know how good the guy is and have bet him up to a 9-to-1 favorite in Las Vegas. Strikeforce on CBS kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

STRIKEFORCE PICKS (Odds courtest Venetian Resort Casino Hotel):
Recommended plays in BOLD

BRETT ROGERS (+550) v. FEDOR EMELIANENKO (-900) - HEAVYWEIGHT
Rogers has a lot of tools that could allow him to beat Fedor. He's a huge dude with a 31 pound weight advantage. He's a solid striker with fast hands. The biggest issue is what happens if the fight goes to the ground. We have zero clue as to how Rogers will handle himself. That's an awful question going in against a guy with 16 submission wins and six of his last seven by sub. Fedor deserves to be a huge favorite but anytime the odds get this high you have take a look at the dog. The plus-550 is nice return on a guy with knockout power. Fedor will win the fight but you have to roll the dice with a small bet on Rogers.
PICK: ROGERS +550

JASON MILLER (+220) v. JAKE SHIELDS (-300) - MIDDLEWEIGHT
Vegas says the action all been on Shields, who opened minus-220. That's a little surprising with Miller gaining some traction with his MTV show "Bully Beatdown." Truth is though only hardcores are betting this Strikeforce card and they know how good Shields is. What quality win does Miller have in the last three years? The best was against Tim Kennedy. I don't know if he could beat 2009 Tim Kennedy. If it stays on the feet the entire time, Shields stand up is shaky. But it won't. Miller has mediocre takedown defense. Shields rolls via submission. This one opened at -220. There's no value now that it's jumped 80 cents.   
SHIELDS -300

RAMEAU THIERRY SOKOUDJOU (+350) v. GEGARD MOUSASI (-500) - LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Mousasi is probably the No. 2 non-UFC fighter in the world. That doesn't mean he's unbeatable but his package is pretty complete. Sokoudjou brings power to the cage but that's about it. Sokoudjou may want to get this to the ground and try to slow down the pace but he won't. He'll come out slugging and run out of gas like he often does. Mousasi finishes this one late first or early second. Same deal here on the action. It's all been on the side of the favorite. Mousasi opened in Vegas at minus-360.
PICK: MOUSASI -500

ANTONIO SILVA v. FABRICIO WERDUM - HEAVYWEIGHT 
There's been solid two-way action on this fight and there should be. I'm not a huge Silva fan but he's dangerous in this fight against Werdum. I don't like the fact that Werdum came in weighing in the 240's. He's most effective in the low 230's. Werdum needs to get it to the ground to finish it. No one is going to rock that huge noggin of Silva. Silva will be tough to get down. He'll pull the mild upset setting up a fight against Fedor on CBS in the first quarter of 2010.  
PICK: SILVA +140