Ben Fodor and the Flight of the Phoenix

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Early in their careers, many professional mixed martial artists hold second jobs to help them pay the bills. World Series of Fighting’s Ben Fodor is no different from others in that respect, but it is his second job that makes him unique. When not training for his next fight in the cage, he is a costumed crime fighter named “Phoenix Jones” who helps keep the streets of Seattle safe.

“Actually, it’s not hard to separate MMA and crime fighting for me,” Fodor told Sherdog.com. “There have been times where my names have gotten mixed up, but I’ll say this, though: Crime fighting isn’t harder than MMA for me. Criminals aren’t as dedicated as MMA fighters are. The average MMA fighters could beat up most criminals with some preparation. Actual crime fighting against guys with no training isn’t that hard. You just have to figure out where crimes are going to take place, how I should approach things and how to stop them.”

Fodor returns to the MMA scene at World Series of Fighting 23 on Friday, when he takes on Roberto Yong at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix. The 27-year-old admits the amount of time he spends fighting crime fluctuates and hinges on his training schedule.

“It really depends on how close I am to a fight,” Fodor said. “I’m deep in camp now, so I’m only out on the streets two nights a week for about eight hours total fighting crime. I’m only out on Friday and Saturday nights. When I’m not so close to a fight, I’m out on the streets Thursday through Sunday nights.”

Some might wonder how Fodor broke into the crime-fighting business. Like many superheroes, his origins can be found in his being victimized in 2011.

“My car got broken into and my son got hurt in the process,” Fodor said. “My son fell on glass [and] got hurt. There was a lot of police bulls--- with them not making a report and insurance not covering my car getting broken into. It took me three months to find the guy who did it, but I whooped his ass. After that, I decided to stop crimes from happening to anybody else.”

Fodor claims most people are supportive of his efforts to help clean up the streets, even though he has had a few run-ins with law enforcement.

“When I’m on the street, it’s probably 70/30,” said Fodor, who operates out of the same AMC Pankration camp as Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson. “About 70 percent of people think it’s cool but don’t know exactly what I do. About 10 percent don’t know me and are rude to me. About 20 percent look at me and just go on about their day. Most people think I’m a joke until I stop a crime, and then they realize what just happened. People don’t get that I’m actually stopping crime. I’m going head-to-head with criminals who have weapons, while I only have pepper spray and a taser.

“The first few times I stopped crime, the police arrested me a bunch,” added Fodor, the younger brother of Strikeforce, UFC and One Championship veteran Caros Fodor. “They thought I was crazy. I got charged with assault, and they made me undergo a mental evaluation. It was bad. Then there was a riot in Seattle and me and my guys were able to help the police keeps things under control. I got a commendation, and since then, it’s been easy.”

Fodor sports a 5-1-1 record but finds himself on the rebound following his most recent bout -- a unanimous decision defeat to Emmanuel Walo at WSOF 20 in April. Disappointed with his first pro loss, he took aim at what he considered to be a conservative approach from Walo.

“He is a certain type of fighter,” Fodor said. “He normally stands for a while and then shoots, but after getting knocked out in his last fight, he just decided to wrestle and lay on me. You expect to get into a fight, and I got hit 11 times. All he did was takedowns and laying on me. I think he should be ashamed of his performance. It was a douchebag way to fight. By the time the ref figured out he was just going to lay on me and stand us up, it was too late. That’s what sucks about a fight going to the judges. I wish things could just be a fight to the finish. If I’m going to lose, this is not the kind of guy I want to lose to again.”

Fodor has placed a significant emphasis on his wrestling ahead of his clash with Yong, and he does not expect a repeat of what took place against Walo.

“I should know how to get up, and that’s no excuse for what happened [against Walo],” Fodor said. “My wrestling has been a focus of this camp and has been much, much better.”

Yong, who hails from Glendale, Ariz., has lost his last two fights to Arizona Combat Sports rep Estevan Payan and prospect Joel Champion. A Rage in the Cage promotion mainstay, the 31-year-old started as a professional boxer before making the transition to MMA.

“When you show a hole in your game, you have to assume people are going to try and exploit it,” Fodor said. “We expect him to shoot for takedowns since he saw me not defend takedowns, but I do think he’s going to try and knock me out. He’s a dangerous guy. He’s fought real guys and got beat by them. I think he’s my toughest opponent of my career so far, but he’s not going to knock me out. I can hit harder than him, and I won’t get knocked out. I’ve been hit by some of hardest hitters out there. If he decides to stick to boxing, I think it’s going to be a short night. I was dropped in three of my seven pro fights, and I either finished my opponent or won by unanimous decision. He’s not going to knock me out. If he doesn’t get a decision, he’s not going to beat me.”