PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ben Foster (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Connor Ferreria (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ben Foster has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Foster
vs
Ferreria

190 cm
27
196 lbs
7 - 9 - 0

200 cm
26
190 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ben Foster!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Connor Ferreria!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, John Kavanagh and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Foster swings widly with a right hand
letting Ferreria counter with a right hand.
Foster tries to clinch
and Ferreria counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Ferreria defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Foster.
Ferreria scores with a jab. Foster acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Foster misses with a hook
and Ferreria counters with a three punch combo that has Foster backing up. Foster nods at Ferreria to acknowledge the strikes.
Foster ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Foster shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Foster showed some decent athleticism there.
Foster tries to stand and escape but Ferreria actually recovers to full guard.
Ferreria is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Foster working some strikes from top position.
Ferreria is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Foster is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foster postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Foster stands up from Ferreria's guard - Foster perhaps looking for a knockout.
Foster works the jab nicely.

It looks like Connor Ferreria has been cut.
Foster fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Foster shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Foster. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ferreria misses with a double jab.
Foster moves to clinch but Ferreria breaks away

and Ferreria counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferreria seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ferreria stops Foster from getting back to his feet.
Foster regains full guard. Nicely done.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Foster throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Ferreria sitting in guard here, content to control.
Ferreria won't allow Foster to sweep him here.

Foster is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Foster has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Foster is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Foster wants to stand but Ferreria is controlling the position.
Foster trying to control the position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Foster working for a triangle but Ferreria defends it easily.
Ferreria not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Foster dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Connor Ferreria's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Foster misses with a combination

and Ferreria counters by clinching up.
Ferreria fails to pull guard.

Foster pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Foster misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Ferreria drives through with a takedown into guard.
Foster bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Ferreria's guard.
Foster trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Foster trying to stand up but can't free himself from Ferreria's guard.
Foster trying to control the position from guard on top but Ferreria is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ferreria really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Foster. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foster working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Foster would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Foster trying to control the position from guard on top but Ferreria is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Foster postures up in Ferreria's guard and throws a big left but Ferreria blocks it.
Foster trying to stand up but can't free himself from Ferreria's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Foster is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Ferreria working a defensive guard here.

We're going to have a standup here because Ben Foster wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Ferreria defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Foster.
Ferreria misses with a combination

and Foster moves into the clinch.

Foster has hold of one of Ferreria's legs. Ferreria is fighting the takedown attempt but Foster gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Foster passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Foster advances nicely into full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Foster controlling his opponent.
Foster looking to control but Ferreria is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Foster sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Foster thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Foster misses with a head shot.
Ferreria blocking the ground and pound.
Ferreria blocking the ground and pound.
Foster throwing strikes here but Ferreria is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Ferreria working to try and regain half guard.
Foster takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Ferreria is breathing heavily.
Foster sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Foster dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Connor Ferreria's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Foster shoots and misses
and Ferreria counters with a one-two to the body.
Foster misses with a takedown attempt
and Ferreria counters with a two punch combo.
Foster tries to clinch up but Ferreria circles away and keeps his distance.
Ben Foster is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Foster misses with a takedown
and Ferreria counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Foster. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Foster shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Ferreria counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Ferreria.

Ferreria is fighting off a takedown attempt but Foster is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Ferreria to the mat. Ferreria regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.

Ferreria has his feet on Foster's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Ferreria gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Foster has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Ferreria avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ferreria taking a breather.
Ferreria stops a takedown attempt from Foster.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foster changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Ferreria fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Foster throws a left and a right that both miss
and Ferreria connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Foster tries to keep at a distance but Ferreria has taken the fight into the clinch.

Ferreria pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ferreria looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Foster falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ferreria counters with a three punch combo that has Foster backing up. Foster nods at Ferreria to acknowledge the strikes.
Foster misses with a takedown

and Ferreria holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Ferreria breaks from the clinch.
Foster tries to clinch there but Ferreria circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head kick by Foster misses
and Ferreria counters with a three punch combo that has Foster backing up. Foster nods at Ferreria to acknowledge the strikes.

Ferreria closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ferreria sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ferreria is trying to control the action in half guard but Foster is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Connor Ferreria hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Foster shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Ferreria counters with a three punch combo that has Foster backing up. Foster nods at Ferreria to acknowledge the strikes.
Foster fails with the takedown

and Ferreria counters with a shoot takedown. Foster fights it but they end up in guard.
Ferreria controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Foster looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Foster wants to stand but Ferreria is controlling the position.
Ben Foster is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ferreria is standing up over Foster. Foster looks to escape but Ferreria dives into side control.
Foster wants to control but Ferreria postures up.
Ferreria wants to control but Foster is keeping him busy.
Connor Ferreria has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Foster wants to control but Ferreria postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Connor Ferreria comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Foster has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 29:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Foster!