Greg Foster went from UFC contract to ambulance: 'The doctors were getting mad at me'
The win came on his mother's birthday, with her in hospital after a car accident he says fractured her neck and pelvis and left her with eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
Greg Foster won a UFC contract on the season finale of Dana White's Contender Series and was then rushed to a waiting ambulance, without the chance to celebrate properly inside the Meta Apex.
The 34-year-old (9-1) beat Jason Asher by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three scorecards, on 13 October. Smilla Sundell, Luis Francischinelli and Douglas da Lapa also earned deals that night, taking the season's total to 46 and equalling the Contender Series record.
"I just want to let the fans know I was trying hard to get that energy, baby," Foster told MMA Fighting. "The doctors were getting mad at me in the back. I was trying not to go to the hospital, but they wouldn't do it."
Foster took the fight with his mother recovering from the accident, which happened before he got the official call. "She fractured her neck, her pelvis, eight broken ribs, collapsed lung, so we didn't really know if she was going to make it," he said. "She got rushed into neck surgery. She was in the ICU for two weeks, rehab the past three weeks."
He had to leave her to go back to training, without knowing whether the fight would happen. "It was just f*cked that I had to leave her and go back and train, not knowing if I was going to fight or not because of this opportunity that may or may not happen," he said.
The first call from the ambulance went to her. "I got in the ambulance, and I was kind of f*cked up," Foster said. "I was a little f*cked up, I was feeling so-so, but I got in the ambulance, got on my phone and called her right away. So she was pumped up. She was happy."
Foster fought at 155 pounds because he had less notice than usual and plans to drop back to featherweight for his UFC debut. "At the end of the day, you're going to have to kill me," he said.
Every UK fight result and what's next, every Friday. Get the free UK fight briefing
More MMA from Combat Sports UK
- Patchy Mix reportedly cut by RIZIN after four straight losses and a six-pound weight miss
- 'Rocky Fielding just hit me up': BKFC's David Feldman says Darren Till is 'a target now'
- Raul Rosas Jr submits Colby Covington in under 45 seconds as Conor McGregor laughs at ringside
- Colby Covington says Islam Makhachev's retirement talk is 'probably a negotiation tactic'
The UK fight briefing
The stories, results and upcoming fights worth knowing. Every Friday.