Fodor (photo via Showtime / Strikeforce)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Although Caros Fodor worked his way to the top of Strikeforce’s lightweight rankings during his time with the promotion, the man nicknamed “The Future”, wasn’t entirely certain his upcoming fights would be with the UFC like many of his Strikeforce counterparts. Despite having gone 5-1 with the organization, Fodor was coming off a loss to Pat Healy, which took place nearly a year ago in March.

Of course, in the end, Fodor’s concerns were unfounded, as recently the UFC announced that he will fight Sam Stout, February 23rd at UFC 157.

“Absolutely, the loss to Pat, that weighed on my conscience,” Fodor said on Full Contact Fighter Radio recently, when asked if he was worried that the UFC might not come calling after Strikeforce ceased operations. “Also, the UFC 155 division is so stacked, I didn’t even know if they were looking for other bodies. When I heard the news I was very relieved and it was a great day.”

Not only is the UFC bringing over many of Strikeforce’s top fighters to the Octagon, but across the board pretty much, the promotion has been matching them up with established UFC vets. As a result, fighters like Fodor have been given great opportunities to make a big impact in their Octagon debuts.

“That’s the best part; it’s a great way for me to get over the loss to Healy a year ago and bust this guy out,” said Fodor, while discussing the fact that in Stout, he will face one of the UFC’s more recognizable lightweights. “Man, I’m looking forward to having a great year in the UFC. I’ve got mad respect for Stout, but he’s had his time in the UFC, and I think it’s definitely my time. I don’t know how it’s going to go down but I just know I’m going to win.”

Fodor

On paper, the Fodor, Stout matchup has all the makings of an entertaining, stand-up affair, as both men are talented strikers who have recorded highlight reel stoppages.

“Yeah, I’m fine with that,” Fodor said, when asked if he’s expecting Stout to come out aggressively, in keeping with his usual strategy. “I love fighting strikers. I think my style isn’t actually the best for strikers because my constant pressure doesn’t allow them to set up for things.”

“I think the most dangerous fighter I’ve fought, he’s not that well know, was Thomas Diagne,” noted Fodor, who handed Diagne a unanimous decision loss at a Strikeforce Challengers event in July, 2010. “His stand-up is legit. His ground game isn’t as good, so he’s not having as much success in MMA, but his stand-up his legit. I’ve yet to spar or face anybody as dangerous he was. I give a lot of respect to Stout but I’m very confident going into this fight for sure.”

Of course, most observers likely view the UFC’s decision to match the Strikeforce vets against noted Octagon competitors, as a sign of faith in their abilities. Aside from the Fodor-Stout fight, some of the other cross promotional bouts that have been confirmed to date include Bobby Voelker vs. Patrick Cote, Yves Edwards vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg and of course, Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez vs. UFC champion Benson Henderson.

“I hope so; I hope that’s what they’re thinking,” said Fodor. “Or they’re just trying to see, it’s  a measuring stick and see what the competition was like in Strikeforce compared to what it’s like over here. They’re matching everybody up with some big names.”

“I’ve been hearing for years, when I was in Strikeforce, that it was like a lesser organization and that the competition wasn’t good,” Fodor furthered. “I’m looking very forward to proving the fact that we can come into the UFC and beat these guys. There are some really good guys in the UFC but we had a lot of really good guys too…So I’m looking forward to proving them wrong and that the Strikeforce guys can come over and beat up on some UFC guys.”

UFC 157 will be hosted by Anaheim’s Honda Center and will feature women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey versus Liz Carmouche in the main event.