Caros Fodor. Photo credit: Esther Lin/Strikeforce

By Kelsey Mowatt

It’s been several days since the bombshell was dropped that Strikeforce’s September 29th card had suffered the same fate as UFC 151. With Strikeforce set to promote another show on November 3rd, however, fighters who had been preparing for the cancelled card are still holding out hope that they’ll be tapped for the upcoming event.

Case in point is lightweight Caros Fodor. The rising fighter had been anxiously awaiting an opportunity to throwdown with former champion Josh Thomson, until an injury to Gilbert Melendez set the card’s cancellation in motion.

“I haven’t heard anything on that,” Fodor told Full Contact Fighter. “I’m really not sure. I know that Strikeforce has really cut their cards down and they have a lot fighters in line that are trying to get a pay check. So, I’m not sure if they’re going to count the compensation we do get, as kind of getting paid, and then look to the guys that still haven’t received anything for months…I’m not sure what’s going on.”

“From the looks of it there are still some openings; the card’s not filled, so I’m hoping for it,” Fodor furthered. “I haven’t heard anything though and it’s only four weeks away. So I think they would start letting us know now if that was an option, but like I said, there are so many guys with Strikeforce who haven’t had anything.”

As Fodor mentioned, shortly after the news broke that Showtime had elected not to broadcast the event, reports surfaced that fighters would receive some sort of compensation.

“I’m very appreciative if they do give us something,” said Fodor. “It’s something they didn’t have to do, but it makes what happened a whole lot more acceptable. There was a lot of work involved and it was right at the end of camp, so it would be awesome. It will go a long way with the fighters if they do compensate.”

Fodor

For Fodor, the cancellation has been in the ‘worst case scenario’ ballpark, considering it would have marked the first time he had fought since March. The unanimous decision loss he incurred versus number one contender Pat Healy, has been his only fight to date in 2012.

“Devastating is the word I would use,” said Fodor. “It was huge fight for me, to get me back on track, and its definitely very disappointing. I’m just hoping that they give me the same bout and that it will be soon so I can get back on track.”

While the injury to Melendez was the catalyst for the card’s cancellation, the event’s demise came after Showtime announced it was not going to broadcast the event. As a result, Strikeforce decided to pull the plug.

“I think it still would have been something that people would have wanted to watch,” Fodor noted about the card, which was also set to feature bouts like Jorge Santiago versus Quinn Mulhern, Gian Villante vs. Guto Innocente and Adriano Martins vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg. “I was so shocked to hear that the card was cancelled…I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night.”

When 2012 began, Fodor was a key win away from contending, as the AMC Pankration fighter was riding a five fight win streak which included a prompt KO of Justin Wilcox in December.

“I definitely don’t want to have a year like I’ve had this year,” Fodor said, while looking forward to 2013. “I’d love to fight at least three times next year.”

Despite the fact that Fodor has only fought once to date in 2012, the 28 year-old is eager to showcase the new skills he’s acquired throughout the year.

“I’m not just sitting around doing nothing; I am improving, and our school is going great,” Fodor relayed. “You know with DJ (Demetrious Johnson) just winning the world title, I’m just trying to soak in as much as I can…I don’t plan to have the same holes in my game and the problems I had in my last fight.”