April - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
34
At WSOF 20, arguably one of
the most unique mixed martial
artists of all time, in terms of
personality, will make his big
promotion debut: the “real life
superhero” Phoenix Jones. Star
of a recent ESPN documentary
following his foray into Mixed
Martial Arts and his time spent
patrolling the streets of Seattle,
Jones (real name Ben Fodor)
found himself subject of a bid-
ding war between every major
promotion after the ESPN piece
aired.
Bellator MMA offered him a
contract. The UFC reportedly
wanted him on The Ultimate
Fighter.
The WSOF, however, wisely of-
fered him a solid deal with one
condition: Be Yourself.
In fact, as Fodor stated on the
MMA Hour recently, they didn’t
even ask him to stop patrol-
ling the streets — while other
promotions tried to dictate his
actions, or even take owner-
ship of the rights to Phoenix
Jones. For a fighter likes Jones/
Fodor, with a 5-0-1 record as
a pro (built off an impressive
16-2 amateur record), image
is everything. He is Phoenix
Jones. A real life “crime fight-
er” (he mostly just patrols the
streets and helps people out)
complete with a full costume,
adoring fans, sworn enemies, a
dubious police force, and even
video-taped combat on the
street. His story hit the main-
stream in a way that few other
upcoming fighters have been
lucky enough to experience —
but without his alter ego, he’s
just another fighter.
Any promotion trying to pack-
age Jones into something he’s
not, or trying to have him tone
down his image, would be
dropping the ball. When Fodor
makes his debut, he needs to
walk out in full costume. Of
course, it’ll be stripped off be-
fore he ever enters the cage,
but the selling point of the
fighter isn’t Ben Fodor any
more than the selling point of
Batman is Bruce Wayne.
The World Series of Fighting
was wise to see this. Bellator
has struggled in its transition
from the tournament format,
but there’s no question that it
has attracted a fair amount of
attention with its freakshow
fights. Now consider that a
Phoenix Jones fight could gar-
ner just as much attention, but
feature a legit up and coming
fighter who hasn’t yet hit his
ceiling or is on the downside of
his career.
There is room in the MMA
world for spectacle, and this
is a good example of that. Of
course, Fodor needs to win,
and first up will be Emmanuel
Walo (7-2-1), but Fodor has a
great shot here, and a lot of
fans will be rooting for him.
For the WSOF, meanwhile, it’s
a no-lose situation, and the
simplicity of just letting him be
himself was nothing short of
genius.
WSOF:
The Genius of Letting
Phoenix Jones Be Himself
Article By: Jay Anderson
