Former Strikeforce heavyweight fighter Brett Rogers has signed for Bellator the promotion has announced.
The organization will put him straight into action with a fight at Bellator 71 on June 22nd, though his opponent has yet to be confirmed.
At one point in time Rogers was an up and coming star in the heavyweight ranks with a perfect 10-0 record, but his life both inside and outside of the cage has since taken a turn for the worse.
In the Strikeforce promotion he slumped to three consecutive losses to Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett, but the worst was still to come.
In June of last year he was arrested after a physical confrontation with his wife which led to him being charged with stalking, third-degree assault, domestic assault by strangulation and endangerment of a child. After learning of the incident he was also immediately released from Strikeforce.
Rogers later plead guilty to assaulting her and was sentenced to 60 days in jail which he has now served.
With that kind of past history Bellator are taking somewhat of a risk by bringing him into the fold, and Rogers is the first to acknowledge that.
“I am incredibly thankful to Bellator for giving me and my family this opportunity,” he said in a press release.
He also offered assurances that he had turned a corner in his life and was keen to put his troubles behind him.
“Over the past year I have been challenged in my personal life, but all is now good in the Rogers family. Everyone makes mistakes in life but it’s how you recover that really counts. I spend every day with my wife and kids and enjoy every minute of it. Fighting is my job and I love it, but I also love my family and that’s why I made things right before returning to the cage.
“All I can say is get ready for a new and improved Brett Rogers.”
