PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Gayle Foster (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brano Hribik (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Foster
vs
Hribik

207 cm
18
193 lbs
1 - 6 - 0

180 cm
18
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Can Moonwalk

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 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gayle Foster!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brano Hribik!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Thiago Cunha and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Foster shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hribik sprawls well. Hribik wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Foster gets slowly back to his feet.
Hribik tries to clinch up.
Foster avoids the head kick by Hribik.

Hribik rushes Foster and presses him up against the cage.

Foster has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Hribik is trying to keep an underhook but Foster manages to get the takedown into half guard.

Foster is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Hribik is controlling Foster's position as best he can from this difficult position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hribik wants to improve his position but Foster is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Foster seems content to control.
Hribik wants to control but Foster is keeping busy.
Foster is looking to take a break and control but Hribik is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hribik tries to get to full guard but Foster has control of the leg.

Hribik looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Hribik is looking for a sweep. Foster is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Hribik kicks Foster off and gets back to his feet.
Hribik tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Foster counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Hribik is wriggling around but Foster manages to pass to half guard.

Hribik is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Foster with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Foster is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hribik is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Foster's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Foster's back!
Hribik tries to keep control of the position but Foster is staying busy.
Foster really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Hribik is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Foster is defending well though. Hribik let's go of the attempt for now.

Foster is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Hribik gets his way!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Foster is really stuck here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Foster defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Hribik's arms.
Foster trying to get back to his feet but Hribik is in full control for now.
Hribik missing with punches from the back.
Foster tries to roll but Hribik sticks to his back.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Foster defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Hribik is striking well from the back but Foster escapes and manages to control the positon and works his way to half guard. A much better position - the crisis is over for the time being.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brano Hribik dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Hribik shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Brano Hribik has got the better of the ground game so far.
Foster blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hribik.
Foster looks like he's trying to stand up.

Foster is defending against the submission attempts here by Hribik.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Foster gets back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hribik is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Hribik postures up in Foster's guard and throws a big left but Foster blocks it.
Hribik postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hribik lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Hribik drops back, looking for a kneebar! Foster looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Foster looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Foster!

Foster is looking to take a break and control but Hribik is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Foster is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Hribik is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Hribik struggling a bit here.
Hribik is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Foster controlling the position.
Hribik sneaks back into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hribik keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Hribik is trying to control but can't.
Hribik is controlling Foster's trapped leg to prevent Foster from advancing to side control.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Hribik works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Foster controlling from the top position.
Hribik is trying to control the position but Foster postures up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Foster shoots in looking for a takedown but Hribik manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Foster's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Hribik shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Foster manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hribik is looking to work some ground and pound but Foster has wrist control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hribik stands up over Foster, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Hribik trying to control the position from guard on top but Foster is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brano Hribik showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Hribik tries to clinch there but Foster circles away.
Foster feinted with a counter takedown.
Hribik throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Foster.
Foster darts in looking for a takedown but Hribik gets double underhooks and turns Foster into the cage.
Hribik throws a right hand that Foster ducks under and follows up with a left that Foster also avoids with ease.
Hribik wants to clinch but Foster slips to the side

and Foster counters with a shoot takedown. Hribik fights it but they end up in guard.

Hribik manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Hribik closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Foster to the mat! Foster manages to get full guard.
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 looking to control.
Hribik throws a big right hand that misses.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hribik tries to free his leg and advance position but Foster is retaining full guard.
Hribik wants to control from the top but Foster keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hribik throwing strikes from guard but Foster blocks nicely.
Hribik looking to pass the guard.
Hribik working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Foster keeping moving, preventing Hribik from controlling successfully.
Hribik won't allow Foster to get back to his feet.
Hribik trying to control but Foster is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Hribik missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Hribik tries to close the distance and clinch up but Foster swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Foster fails with a takedown attempt.
Hribik is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Foster shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Hribik as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gayle Foster. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hribik looking to score a takedown here. Foster is defending well but Hribik drives through and ends up in Foster's guard.
Hribik sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Foster's guard.
Foster is refusing to be controlled, as Hribik sits in half guard.
Foster is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hribik scores with a couple of nice shots.
Foster tries to kick Hribik off but Hribik keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Hribik escapes and gets back to his feet.

Hribik changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Foster looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Foster can't do much from the bottom here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hribik wants to control but Foster is keeping him busy.
Hribik is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Foster takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Hribik lands a nice forearm strike.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hribik is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Foster knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Foster bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!

And that's the end of the fight!
Brano Hribik comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hribik has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brano Hribik!
A victorious Brano Hribik thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.