MISSING out on the biggest opportunity of your career is enough to send anyone spiralling into despair.
But for Manchester lightweight Saul Rogers, it’s proved the spark that’s ignited the next stage of his hugely promising MMA career.
Rogers ran the table in the 22nd season of The Ultimate Fighter as the only athlete to progress through the tournament undefeated.
But despite his successes inside the cage, visa issues prevented him from competing in last year’s December finale and earning a spot on the UFC‘s lightweight roster.
Now, with the UFC door currently closed – or pushed to, at least – Rogers is launching into the next chapter of his growing career with gusto.
His first outing following his UFC disappointment saw him submit fellow former TUF finalist Andre Winner in just 54 seconds at the inaugural Tanko FC event in Manchester in August.
And on October 1 he marked his debut for growing Russian promotion ACB with another impressive submission finish, stopping Michell Adelina in two minutes 33 seconds, further boosting his growing reputation as one of the most dangerous 155-pounders outside the UFC.
Chatting to SunSport after his victory Rogers admitted it took him a little while to get over the disappointment of missing his first shot at the UFC, but said he’s bounced back and taking control of his career once more.
Speaking about the initial disappointment, he explained: “Do you know what? That was kinda driving me when I first got cut and all this other stuff.
“I was sitting back and being kinda bitter and thinking basically: ‘They should have me’, or ‘I should be here’ or ‘I’m deserving this’.
“Nothing good came from that. I was miserable, my family was miserable. I didn’t feel like me.
“As soon as I started fighting again it’s like: ‘I’m doing what I love doing now’.
“If anything happens off the back of that, that’s just a bonus, but I’m not bothered about that.
Sometimes when you hear people speak like this after suffering disappointments you get the impression they’re trying to convince themselves.
But that wasn’t the case with Rogers, who has taken a philosophical approach to his career and is now determined to take charge of the one thing he can control – his performances on fight night.
“Me, I’m content in my life now,” he said.
“I’m happy and I’m glad I’m back fighting, taking out the best guys.
“Anything that comes on top of that is a bonus. So that’s not really driving me – I’m driving myself.
“I’m getting myself out of bed in the morning, not on the off-chance that ‘I might get to fight for that promotion,’ or ‘I might get to do this’. It’s down to me, you know?
“When I was in TUF my goal was (to) beat all the guys, fight in the finale, kinda my way up there. But obviously my circumstances changed.
“Now my thing is now to work my way up the ACB ladder. They’ve got some good guys on there, you know? Some guys who are UFC level at the very least.”
And while he may not yet be fighting under the banner of the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion. He knows he’s up to the standard required – even for the UFC’s ultra-competitive lightweight division.
“I know I’m UFC level,” he said.
“People who kinda deny that, they’re a bit mad.
“The only thing that’s driving me now is me. I just want to keep beating people, I want to keep bettering myself and prove to the world that I’m the best.
“Whether it’ll be in the UFC or outside the UFC doesn’t make a difference. The results are always gonna be the same.”
Currently that job will take place outside the UFC, with Rogers one of the latest UK additions to the ACB roster.
But what about a little further down the line? Where does Rogers see himself in two years’ time, for example?
“I don’t know what promotion it will be on,” he admitted.
“But I will be – whether it’s the crowned or uncrowned, underground or above ground – I’m gonna be the number one lightweight. Make no mistake about it.
“I already know I’m the number one. But there’ll be no doubt in anyone’s mind. As soon as my name comes up, they’ll know I’m the best.
“It doesn’t matter what promotion. They’ll know I’ll be the best guy.”
That may come across as arrogant to some when you read words on a page, but don’t be misled by his self-confidence. Rogers is as humble as they come, and dedicates time as often as he can to personally respond to every message he received on social media.
And even when he’s picking up impressive wins in the cage, his friends are always there to bring him down to earth, as they did after his fight in Glasgow.
“I always do predictions with one of my good mates,” he explained.
“I basically owe him a bit of money now because he said I needed to get it (the win over Adelina) done within two and a half minutes. I think it was three seconds (or) four seconds over.
“He rung me up after (the fight) saying I owe him money!”
Recap the best of ACB 47 in our SunSport highlights show
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