By Kelsey Mowatt

It’s been four months and counting since Caros Fodor last fought, but it appears as though it’s been well worth the wait, as the fighter is reporting that he will fight fellow rising lightweight Justin Wilcox next. The bout will be part of Strikeforce’s upcoming, December 17th card in San Diego, California.

“I feel really good,” said Fodor, who told FCF that he found out about the fight Tuesday, which has not been announced yet by the promotion. “I was looking for a fight that was going to be a big step in my career, and this definitely is one, it’s going to be tough one for sure. Career wise it’s a big step for me.”

Due to the fact that Fodor (6-0) has now won four straight bouts since signing with Strikeforce, and that Wilcox (11-3) has gone undefeated in his last six fights with the promotion, the match-up could have title shot implications riding on it.

“I was thinking about that myself,” said Fodor while discussing what impact the reported fight will have on the division’s rankings. “You know Pat Healy has been winning and he beat some good guys, so I’m not sure if he’s ahead of me and Wilcox in contention, but if not, the winner of this one should probably be right up there.”

Wilcox hasn’t competed since June, when his bout with Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante was declared a no contest, after Wilcox was poked in the eye and could not continue. Prior to the disappointing result, the former NCAA wrestler had scored wins over several notable vets, including Vitor Ribeiro and Rodrigo Damm.

“I think his wrestling; I’m going to need to train a lot of wrestling for this fight,” Fodor said while evaluating Wilcox, whose management could not be immediately reached to confirm the fight. “I think his best shot at beating me is to take me down and grind out a decision. So we’re definitely going to work on stopping that, other than that, I’m not too worried about his striking.”

“I’m sure he’ll probably make it look like he’s going to strike with me, just to make the takedown attempts easier,” Fodor added. “I come forward a lot, so I’m sure he’s thinking that as I come forward he can duck under me and get the takedown….We’ll see how it goes; it’s going to be a tough fight but I’m pretty confident I can take this.”

Fodor is coming off a unanimous decision win over James Terry on June 24^th, to follow up on his TKO stoppage of Douglas Evans at Strikeforce Challengers 15 in April.  After competing twice, in just under three months, the 27 year-old-fighter has gone several months now without fighting.

“I’ve been asking for a fight,” said Fodor. “I tried to get on the Challengers 18 card and they filled that, then about three or four weeks ago they told me it would probably be December.”

“I hurt my hand in my last fight, it wasn’t broken or anything but I had a huge calcium deposit, so I wasn’t able to spar for seven weeks,” Fodor furthered. “So in the beginning, I was kind of praying that Strikeforce wouldn’t call, but since the summer ended I’ve been waiting to get one.”

In addition, with the future of Strikeforce and its deal with Showtime still up in the air, Fodor is unsure of what 2012 will bring.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen with Strikeforce,” said Fodor, who continues to train out of the renowned AMC facility in Kirkland, Washington. “I’m just hoping that I can put on a good enough of a show in this next fight, that if it comes to the cutting board, I can at least be up there, be someone they want to keep and move to the UFC if it comes to that.”