![]() ![]() This is what can make your career better. This is where you probably should improve. We saw this and that and we liked this and we liked that. When I got on the phone with Ali (Abdelaziz, WSOF executive vice president and matchmaker) and Kevin (Alires, vice president of operations) from the WSOF, they were like, "Yeah, we watched your fights. So what was it about them that stood out to you? It's honest, it's true to character, but it's certainly nothing we discussed" (laughs).ī/R: And then, moving forward from that time, you posted a tweet with a handful of contracts, and you said something like, "I have an offer from every organization on the planet in my hand right now," so it understandably stirred the MMA community.īut then after it was announced you were signing with WSOF, people kind of wondered why. I want to let you know the premise and everything we talked about pretty much went out the door in the editing room. We shot the whole thing, then I talked to the editor, and he said, "We're going to air this in about a week. Lo and behold, I ended up signing for a cage fight, and they came out right in the middle of training camp. So they're like, "Alright, what if we come out and do just a small, 10-minute feature on you and you fighting crime and then we'll include your cage fighting and all the other stuff?" I said, "OK, let's do that." I will have a chance at a legitimate 30 for 30 based on my athletic accomplishments, and I don't want to waste it." No." Then they asked why, and I said, "Because 30 for 30 is for athletes who have done something spectacular, right? I have yet to do my spectacular thing, and I don't want to waste my 30 for 30."Īnd they said, you know, "This opportunity may only come around once in a lifetime." And I said, "You don't have to tell me. Basically, they called me, and they're like, "Hey, we want to do like a 30 for 30 special." And I was like, "No. PJ: Well, I didn't really agree (laughs). And I went out and I hung out, I skipped work for an entire, like, four days and just trained and I came back and I said, "Man, if this is how my life is going to be because I did something I thought was right, I guess I'm cool." And since then, I've had a hard time complaining about anything.ī/R: And like you said, it really wasn't intentional on your part, so when you agreed to do the SportsCenter feature and everything, what did you hope would come out of that? They were just paper.īut like a week ago I got my advance. I did so many interviews and stuff.then I woke up and I was out doing something, and I got some contracts from the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) and some other places, but they didn't seem real to me. So, how has it been? At first, I was really annoyed, honestly. When you put on your superhero suit, it's like, "This is how I'm going to die alone." You don't think, "I'm going to be an Internet celebrity." PJ: I'm glad you put it that way, because it really is something that wasn't intended. ![]() What was your reaction to all that? It sounds like you got into the Rain City Superhero Movement honestly -your son got hurt and you honestly wanted to make a change -but then you started blowing up and becoming this character that maybe you didn't intend. You had SportsCenter do a feature on you and then you got all the attention that followed. I prefer Ben Fodor, but I'm going to do what my PR team says (laughs).ī/R: That decision on their part, of course, comes on the heels of your story blowing up. Even if you try, they're going to call you Phoenix Jones." So I just started to identify myself that way. My PR team that I have now and other people, they pretty much said, "Look, no one is going to call you Ben Fodor. So, I like Ben Fodor, (but) I was pretty much instructed that it's not going to happen. So if it feels like I'm being a d-k, I apologize, but I'm just going to be direct. PJ: OK, so, first of all, I just want to let you know, I answer things really blunt and super honest. So, first things first, you just introduced yourself as "Phoenix," but Ben Fodor seems to be your cage name. PJ: I'm having a pretty decent day, can't complain.ī/R: Excellent, glad to hear it. He's real, he's here and he's doing things his way.ī/R: Hey, Phoenix, how's everything going, man? He held nothing back, and he needed no mask to veil his words. The following is the uncut transcript from our chat, where Jones dished on everything from his pre-crime-fighting days to his budding MMA career to a time when he told a high-ranking executive in the MMA world to "eff himself." He's a man with layers, and during our talk, he peeled back a few to show what it takes to become such a fascinating individual. But Jones is no sideshow, and his MMA career is no joke. ![]()
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