Caros Fodor: Jason High is Getting Finished at PFL 1 ‘Daytona’

A veteran of mixed martial arts for nearly a decade, Caros Fodor has had as many ups as downs in his career. On Friday night in the inaugural event of the newly-formed Professional Fighters League, Fodor is hoping to build upon a win against his foster brother Phoenix Jones a year ago and begin a new chapter in his life on a positive note.

Fodor is set to fight Jason High, a high-powered wrestler who has taken on some high-level opponents. “The Kansas City Bandit’ holds wins over Hayato Sakurai and Andre Galvao and came up short against eventual Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. While Fodor has knuckled up with some solid pros in his life, the Washington native thinks High will be his toughest test.

“He’s definitely one of my tougher opponents that I’ve had,” Fodor told Sherdog.com in a recent interview. “He’s a strong wrestler and I’m not taking him lightly. I’ve been wrestling for a year now so I’ve had plenty of time to prepare. We were supposed to fight quite a while back so I have seen a lot of footage of him and I’ve already trained for him before, so it’s business as usual. I’m just focused on what I need to do and not worried too much about what he does.”

With High coming off an October loss to Joao Zeferino at WSOF 33, “The Future” expects his upcoming opponent to be desperate and come right at him once the bell rings.

“I’m assuming that he’s going to come out aggressively,” Fodor said. “That’s how I am after a loss so I think he’ll want to try and get that loss back. If he does, he’ll have some problems because that’s my style; I’m always in people’s faces. He’s near the end of his career so I fully expect him to try and go out on a high note so he’ll come right at me.”

Fodor acknowledges that High’s powerful wrestling game is his greatest asset and while he doesn’t see any particular weakness in his game, he thinks he knows what could betray High during the fight.

“It might be his stamina,” he said of High’s expected downfall. “He has slowed down lately and he seems to be trying to preserve his gas tank. His stamina is a factor and I don’t know if it’s because of his age -- he is a veteran -- so I don’t know if that’ll really be an issue for him. He’s got a lot more experience than me so I’m sure he knows how to adapt but I’m hoping that will be a factor.”

Both he and High have competed inside the cages for Strikeforce and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Fodor is amped up for the newest promotion in the sport. The plan is that starting in January 2018, the promotion will have a yearlong season, culminating in a K-1-styled tournament for several different weight classes, with the winner of each bracket earning a cool million dollars. To say the least, Fodor is eager to know more about it, but he admittedly remains in the dark about the specifics.

“I’m excited for it, but I don’t know how it’s all going to work,” he said with a chuckle. “I know they have huge plans so I’m curious how they are going to do their tournament format. I want to know how they are going to do their pay structure for us, what will happen if somebody in the tournament gets hurt, things like that. I honestly don’t how it’s all going to play out but I expect to know a lot more by the time they -- I assume -- pick up our WSOF contracts in January to officially start their season. I’m really excited for this new league and it’s a great idea, but right now I’m fighting off of my WSOF contract. I just don’t know any of those details, though, but I’m all for a tournament where the winner gets a million dollars.”

Fodor revealed through a series of laughs that he didn’t know the PFL event was going to take place near the pit area of Daytona International Speedway and said he didn’t know his fight was going to follow a full day of racing. Focusing solely on High has been his priority but he said that regardless if he was fighting him on the track itself or in a traditional arena, he is not going to lose.

“I’m expecting a rough (first) round with his aggression but I ultimately see me finishing him,” he stated. “Whether he gasses out or not, I see him getting knocked out or submitted. I just see myself overcoming a rough opening round and then finishing him.”

PFL 1 will be televised live on NBCSN immediately following the Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250. The promotion expects to have its first bout sometime around 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.