Stout (photo via UFC.com)

By Kelsey Mowatt

If you were to take just a quick look at the record’s of Sam Stout and Caros Fodor, you might be inclined to conclude that the latter is much younger than his upcoming, UFC 157 opponent. Not only has “The Future” Fodor fought nearly 20 times less than Stout, but the highly regarded Strikeforce vet will be making his UFC debut February 23rd. Stout, on the other hand, is entering his eighth year with the promotion. Of course the reality is much different.

“I know; I forget that I’m only 28 sometimes,” Stout (18-8-1) said in a recent appearance on Full Contact Fighter Radio, while discussing his tenure with the promotion that is about to include a 15th fight. “My body doesn’t feel like it all the time. I’ve been fighting for a really long time and I want to do it for as long as possible, but I definitely don’t see myself being a guy who fights close to 40.”

While the 29 year-old Fodor is only beginning his first UFC run, Stout stepped into the Octagon for the first time in March, 2006, and defeated Spencer Fisher by split decision at UFC 58.

“I love the sport, but, I think guys have a shelf life,” Stout noted. “It’s not necessarily a certain age where you’re supposed to retire. I think it’s more of how long you’ve been doing it and how much you’ve put your body through. I think that kind of tells you how long you can do it. As you know, I’ve put my body through a lot and I’ve been in a lot of wars in my career.”

Sam Stout (left) exchanging with Paul Taylor (photo via UFC.com)

As Stout noted, he has indeed been involved in several classic battles, as the London, Ontario fighter has earned “Fight of the Night” honors an impressive five times. In addition, 12 of the lightweight’s 14 UFC bouts have gone to the judge’s scorecards.

“A goal I’ve kind of set for myself, and I’d be happy with, and anything on top of that would be like icing on the cake…but I would like to go for about another three years,” Stout said. “If I can go another three years that would be a full decade in the UFC, and I think I’d be able to walk away with my head held high after if I can say that.”

In the meantime, of course, Stout will look to rebound from a unanimous decision defeat he suffered versus John Makdessi in November, against Fodor. Although the AMC Pankration fighter has fought just nine times, and has yet to compete in the UFC, Fodor is coming off an impressive run in Strikeforce.

Aside from a submission loss to Pat Healy, the Washington State fighter went undefeated in five other bouts with the promotion, and scored several memorable wins while doing so.

“I wasn’t too familiar with him; he’s only had nine pro fights so he wasn’t really someone who was on my radar,” Stout admitted. “When they offered me the fight I obviously looked into him and it seemed like a good fight. He’s no joke. I’ve taken this camp very seriously. The fact that he’s only 7-2, a lot of people might underestimate him because of that, but he’s fought some tough opponents. He’s very scrappy.”

Fodor’s most notable win to date is likely the knockout victory he recorded over Justin Wilcox in December, 2011, which lasted just 13 seconds.

“I think his stand-up is no joke,” Stout added about Fodor. “He’s very aggressive; he doesn’t move backwards very much, which is a similar style to me, so I think we’re going to come to the middle and really clash. It should be a very exciting fight for fans to watch. I think it’s going to come down to who has the better game plan and who implements it the best on that day.”

“Don’t think I’m underestimating this opponent because he has a lot less experience than me. I know he’s coming in here with something to prove.”

UFC 157 will be hosted by Anaheim’s Honda Center and will feature women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey taking on Liz Carmouche.