Most Dana White's Contender Series winners are present at the Meta APEX to receive feedback from UFC CEO Dana White when it's time to hand out contract offers, but not Greg Foster. He was in a hospital bed.
After going toe-to-toe with Jason Asher for three rounds, Foster (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) took a unanimous decision on the scorecards, and then a trip to a nearby medical facility. The fight with Asher (5-1) was intense, with back-and-forth action throughout. In a "UFC job interview" fight, both competitors left it all in the cage, hoping to earn a spot in the promotion.
Foster didn't even get a chance to speak to Laura Sanko for a post-fight interview, which he said he was pushing hard for, but officials wanted him checked out immediately. Foster received the news that he won a UFC contract while watching the DWCS stream on his phone, lying in a hospital bed – and he couldn't wait to get out of there to celebrate in Las Vegas.
"I was hustling," Foster told MMA Junkie. "I was telling them, 'I'm good, I'm good.' So, soon as the CT scans came back and all that sh*t, and there was nothing major going on – they wanted me to stay to wait for the X-rays on the foot, and I'm like, 'Hey, f*ck it. Call me. We're good. Let's get out and party.'"
Foster was released from the hospital and began a real celebration in "Sin City".
White typically doesn't look to add 34-year-old fighters to the UFC roster through DWCS. However, White said he's "never been more excited" to see someone of Foster's age compete in the promotion. Using an analogy of two used cars, Foster compares himself to one that was well-maintained over the years, while others his age may have been treated poorly.
"I truly feel better than I did when I was 21, 22 years old," Foster said. "I used to eat like sh*t, drink like sh*t. I got hurt more and more inflammation in my body. You know, I don't party. I don't do drugs, man. I live a really healthy lifestyle. I've been in the gym my whole entire life, and I've just taken care of myself, and I don't have a lot of miles on the car.
"I've never had any surgeries. I don't get hurt. I'm durable. I got a chin on me and whatnot. I just feel that age is getting a little blown up too much. And you know, with the way sports recovery and the science is and whatnot, it's like, hey, there's more knowledge on how to service cars now. So, these cars are probably going to last longer, right? Same with us."
Foster suggests that people should not consider his number of trips around the sun and should instead judge the performances he gives inside the cage. He certainly understands why age is a factor, getting hung up on the number at face value instead of digging a little deeper to analyze what that person has been through in their career is more important.
In a perfect world, Foster will have his opportunity to debut in the UFC in February or March, which he believes will be a good timeline to recover from his DWCS battle while also attending to personal matters, such as assisting his mother, who is in recovery from a severe car accident that nearly took her life. But once he gets going, Foster wants to be active with three or four fights a year.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC newcomer Greg Foster reacts to Dana White's praise, age concerns