EVERETT — Brotherly love? There won’t be any of that between Caros and Ben Fodor on Saturday night at Xfinity Arena.
Don’t expect it in the run up to their mixed martial arts fight, or in the aftermath, either.
The adoptive brothers and Shorecrest High School alums square off in a long-awaited bout during Saturday’s World Series of Fighting event, and when they do it will be the culmination of a grudge match that dates all the way back to infancy.
The battle of brothers is one of four bouts on Saturday’s main card, which starts at 7:30 p.m. and is being televised on NBCSN. The others include a world bantamweight title bout between Marlon Moraes and Josh Hill, a world featherweight title bout between Alexandre Almeida and Lance Palmer, and a middleweight bout between Phil Hawes and Louis Taylor. The card also includes eight preliminary bouts starting at 4 p.m.
Caros Fodor, 32, and Ben Fodor, 28, have been taking swings at one another ever since they were old enough to make fists. They say the source of their strained relationship is their differing personalities. The quiet and reserved Caros is a former Marine who was active from 2001-07 and was deployed to Iraq in 2003. The outgoing and flamboyant Ben moonlights as “Phoenix Jones,” a costumed superhero who roams the streets of Seattle fighting crime.
And the two weren’t pulling any punches in advance of their fight.
“We don’t get along at all, we’re opposite people in every respect,” Caros Fodor said. “Mixed martial arts brought us together a little when I first got started when I was about 20. But we always have a chance of having a falling out and not speaking to one another. Right now is one of those bad times.”
Said Ben Fodor: “We’ve never really gotten along. Things were better the last couple years because we were doing MMA together. But he got angry about something I didn’t think was that big a deal, it was nothing new, and the next thing I know he’s talking about fighting on TV.”
Saturday’s bout is one the MMA community has been eagerly anticipating. The 6-foot-1 Ben Fodor fights in the 170-pound welterweight division, while the 5-foot-9 Caros competes in the 155-pound lightweight division. Their fight Saturday is being contested at a catchweight of 162.
Ben Fodor claims he was blindsided by the fight, which was arranged three months ago. But Caros Fodor said they always intended to fight.
“By the time I found out the contract was already signed, and I’m not the type to back out of anything,” Ben Fodor said. “I feel like it was disrespectful. I didn’t feel it was the right time to do this, we could have done it together.”
“He’s not happy with the way it went down, with the timing of it all, but I don’t really care,” Caros Fodor said.
As for the fight itself, it represents a contrast in styles. Caros Fodor (10-5) is the smaller fighter, but he’s considered a better technician. Meanwhile, Ben Fodor (6-1-1) has the size advantage, but not the same technical skill.
Both believe their strength will prevail.
“I expect to walk right through him,” Caros Fodor said. “He doesn’t train very hard, he doesn’t put a lot of effort into mixed martial arts. We’ve fought all our lives, so I won’t have trouble with him. I admit, he could knock me out because he’s athletic, but I’m assuming I’m going to walk right through him.”
Said Ben Fodor: “I’m bigger, stronger, hit harder. Overall I’m a better athlete. He may be able to escape me for three, four, five minutes. But not for 15 minutes in a cage.
“It’s going to be a good fight,” Ben Fodor added. “If you’re expecting to see grappling you’re wrong. We’re going to be throwing bombs.”
That will be nothing new for a pair of brothers who have been at odds since the crib.
For more on the Seattle sports scene, follow Nick Patterson on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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