When Ben Fodor (6-1-1) – the fighter known for his superhero alter-ego, “Phoenix Jones” – agreed to fight his adopted brother Caros Fodor (10-5), the deal was that they would both continue to train at the AMC Pankration gym in Kirkland, Wash., prior to their bout at WSOF 32 on July 30.
But eight weeks out from the fight, according to Ben, AMC Pankration head coach Matt Hume told him he’d need to find somewhere else to train for this one. And now?
“I’m training at a completely different gym,” Ben said. “Because Caros is an (expletive).”
To hear Ben tell it, he was asked to leave AMC Pankration because his presence made for “an uncomfortable training environment” for his brother.
Caros Fodor
“And Matt Hume, he’s been training Caros for the past 10 years, so he’s going to side with his guy, which is totally cool with me,” Ben said. “I want to make it clear, Matt was nothing but professional. He never did anything wrong. It was more Caros being a complaining little (expletive).”
But according to Caros, he had nothing to do with the decision to ask Ben to leave. That was entirely Hume’s decision, he said, made and relayed to Ben without any input from Caros. (Hume did not respond to a request for comment.)
Hearing his brother’s version of events, Caros laughed out loud.
“He’s a (expletive) liar,” Caros said. “He’s just full of (expletive). Me and him haven’t talked, and I have no desire to clarify anything with him, so I guess I can see how he came to that conclusion, but that’s not how it went down. He’s telling himself all kinds of (expletive). He’s out there.”
This is how quickly things get complicated when family members fight. In the case of Ben and Caros, it’s not even the actual fighting part that seems to be the issue. If anything, that’s the easy part. They’ve been beating each other up for most of their lives.
But now that they’re set to do so officially, in a cage with judges and referee, with the outcome forever marked on their professional records, and it’s already proving tricky. The argument over training facilities is proof, but both men acknowledge that, as is so often the case with family, this is about more than the issue at hand.
To Ben, who’s mostly known for spending his free time dressed up in brightly colored body armor as he patrols the streets of Seattle as Phoenix Jones, it’s a purposeful move by his brother meant to disrupt his training and harm his chances in the fight, which airs on NBCSN from XFINITY Arena in Everett, Wash.
And it’s that, he said, much more so than the fight itself, that will make it difficult for the brothers to reconcile once the bout is over.
“In my mind, this was calculated and ridiculous,” said Ben, 28, the younger of the two brothers by four years. “Caros really went on a mission to alienate me, and it was intentional. And that’s not going to be fixed. Even after I knock him out, it’s not going to make that any better. He’s still going to be an (expletive). He’ll just be an unconscious (expletive).”
But to Caros, who regards his brother’s superhero exploits as “pretty ridiculous,” it’s another example of his sibling making up a story that suits his needs and then blowing it completely out of proportion.
“I mean, yeah, there’s going to be some problems (as a result of the fight), but it won’t be on my end,” Caros said. “It’ll be because he’s an emotional pussy. If he beats me, fine, I can take the loss and not hold any grudges. The problem is, I’m going to whoop his ass, and I know he won’t grow up and be a man about it.”
According to Caros, the fight itself was his idea. He lost a decision in his first fight with WSOF back in January, and he’d been counting on that win bonus, he said. With his brother already signed to the organization, he knew how the MMA world would gravitate toward a brother-vs.-brother narrative, so he asked his coach Hume to offer up the fight.
It seemed like the right time, Caros said. He and his brother were already mad at each other over “some family (expletive),” so why not do the fight and put some money in both their bank accounts?
“It’d be harder being friends and then going in and trying to fight each other,” Caros said. “It’d be almost some rigged (expletive). But right now, me and him are beefing really hard. We’d already had our falling out. We’ve always talked about this fight, and now the timing is perfect.”
But to Ben, who recently posted screenshots of text messages in which the two brothers appear to be arguing over training accommodations, it’s more than just one argument in a lifetime of arguments. It’s also not just about the training, he said. He’s gotten himself resettled at another gym – Catalyst Fight House in Everett – and he’s content there.
But still, this is family. And with family, it’s never just the issue at hand that’s at stake, but often a lifetime of pain and lingering resentments. That’s why this is one falling out that might be permanent, he said, regardless of how the fight goes.
“We’re not friends, and we’re not going to be friends,” Ben said. “For me, I don’t have any connection with people that’s going to make me be close with them no matter what. I come from a foster home background. I have people I grew up with and have the same last name as me, and when I see them it’s just like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And then there are people I didn’t grow up with and who don’t have the same last name as me, and I’d jump in front of a train for those guys. It just depends. Caros just became one of those people who I don’t care about anymore.”
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