Retooled Brett Rogers seeks new home on road to becoming 'international fighter'

All Brett Rogers (13-5) wants is a second chance. With his personal struggles behind and a year of training at American Top Team under his belt, “Da Grim” believes he’s prepared to prove himself as a top-tier heavyweight.

“It’s frustrating, but I do understand why people are concerned,” Rogers told MMAjunkie.com. “I’m a professional fighter. I shouldn’t have done what I did. But I’m a man that’s capable of making mistakes, just like anyone. I did it, and I’m sorry about it. Now it’s all just about getting better. I just use it as a lesson learned. I’m happy to tell everyone what I learned and how I’m making myself better.”

Rogers is a familiar name on the national scene, boasting high-profile experience with Strikeforce and EliteXC. But a June 2011 domestic incident, in which Rogers was charged with third-degree assault of his wife, has left him as a bit of a liability with potential employers.

He fought twice in 2012 under the Bellator MMA banner, but promotion officials declined to extend their relationship with him. He nearly signed a deal with World Series of Fighting before the organization decided his past was too much of a burden for the promotion to deal with in its infancy.

While the incident was more than two years ago, Rogers said he understands why the promotions are concerned. He just hope they’ll recognize his efforts at change.

“World Series of Fighting saw what happened in the past with me and my wife, and they have a nice little list of tasks they want me to accomplish before they sign me, which is cool,” Rogers said. “I understand it; they’re working with a top network. But I still would like to fight for them.

“I’m telling you, I have no problems. Me and my wife are better than ever because of what I learned from that experience. I’m hoping they’ll see what they want to see and give me another chance. I’ve got a fight coming up in Ecuador. I’m going to go out there and bust my ass and try to gain their interest so maybe they’ll want to bring me on.”

For now, Rogers splits his time between his family in Minnesota and American Top Team’s Florida facility. When in Florida, he actually rides a bicycle back and forth to the gym. The results are worth the sacrifices, Rogers believes.

“I enjoy everything about American Top Team,” Rogers said. “Ricardo Liborio is the head coach, and their whole team has been around the world and have proven their skills. Everyone there is a top athlete. There’s so much to like. Top athletes with top coaches from all over the world that know what they’re doing all the way around.

“I was in a gym where everything was centered around me. Now, I’m around other fighters that are better than me, and I’m getting help every day and helping everyone else that I can. We just grind. We get in, work, come back home, eat, sleep and do it all over again.”

In his October 2012 loss to Alexander Volkov, Rogers suffered a broken arm, which kept him on the sidelines for a year. He returned to the cage in October and earned a win over Evgeny Erokhin (5-4) in Russia. Later this month, he travels to Ecuador to meet Brazilian Alexandre Machado (6-1). He’d like to book a fight in Japan at some point. But more than anything, he just wants to put the past behind and prove he belongs in a major promotion.

Until he gets the offer, Rogers said he’ll just keep on winning.

“I just want to be a worldwide fighter and work with someone who’s willing to work with me,” Rogers said. “I’m at the best gym, and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.

“I’m going to go out there and do my thing like I need to. I’m trying to knock people’s head off and raise hell for everybody.”