PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between William Mathis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Foster (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Mathis
vs
Foster

188 cm
20
230 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

198 cm
25
255 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

Good takedowns
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, William Mathis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Foster!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mathis tries a head kick but it misses.

Mathis shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Foster regains half guard.
Foster is trying to control but can't.
Mathis prevents Foster from improving his position.
Foster throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Foster tries to roll over but Mathis keeps him under control.
Foster is trying to control but can't.
Foster is not content to let Mathis control the position.

Foster looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foster is trying is best to control the position here.
Foster is looking to control Mathis's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Foster avoid being mounted?

Foster looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Mathis pushes past his half guard into mount!
Foster wants to hold on but Mathis pushes him away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Foster's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Foster avoids a series of strikes thrown by Mathis.
Mathis has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Foster's face.
Mathis landing punches.
Foster tries to lock up and control but Mathis gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Foster is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Foster can do anything to dispel that myth.
Foster is in all sorts of trouble here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mathis is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Foster can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Mathis tries to control but Foster wriggling away.
Foster sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

Mathis is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Foster doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Mathis.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mathis trying to control from Foster's half guard. Foster has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Foster controls Mathis momentarily but Mathis frees himself.
Mathis with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four 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.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Foster holds on and takes a little breather.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Foster is on top in guard.
Foster stopping the sweep attempt from Mathis.
Foster is looking to stand up but Mathis won't let him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Foster trying to control the position from guard on top but Mathis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but James Foster will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Foster throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Mathis's waist but Mathis gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Foster off to one side.
Mathis shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Foster as he jumps to the side.
Mathis shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Foster counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Mathis is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Foster is controlling him.
Mathis utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Foster slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Mathis is not content to let Foster control the position.
Mathis is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Foster throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Mathis is trying to control but can't.
Foster is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Foster seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Mathis trying to control but Foster postures up.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Foster lands strikes from half guard.
Foster seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Foster wants to work for an arm triangle but Mathis is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Mathis is looking to control Foster's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Mathis avoid being mounted?
Foster is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Mathis reverses the position - he's now on top in Foster's guard.

Foster looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but Mathis is defending well. Foster quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! Mathis has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Foster celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). James Foster!