Professional Fighters League 1 results & highlights: Fitch survives big bombs to submit Foster

Peep the scene for PFL’s inaugural event from Daytona Speedway, as Jon Fitch overcame early adversity to finish off Brian Foster in the main event.

The Professional Fighters League held their inaugural event tonight at Daytona International Speedway, and a little earlier than expected, thanks to the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race being delayed due to rain. The night’s headliner saw former WSOF welterweight champion, John Fitch, eat a barrage of bolos en route to picking up a 2nd round submission over a super aggressive Brian Foster. PFL 1 is officially in the books, and the next event is scheduled for July 29, 2017 and will be headlined by Andre Harrison vs. Steven Rodriguez.

Jon Fitch def. Brian Foster by Submission (Side Choke) at 3:12 of round 2: Welterweight

It was no surprise to see Fitch shoot in rather early in the bout, and Foster was waiting for it with a Guillotine attempt. Fitch hung tough and moved out of harms way, just in time to fend off an Armbar attempt from Foster. Vintage Fitch was on display, as the veteran grinded away from top position, chipping away at Foster with short strikes from closed guard.

Foster bombed away on Fitch to open the second fame, prompting another Guillotine attempt. With his opponent on the ropes, Foster continued to wail away in attempt to finish, but Fitch was able to regain his wits and find top position. Fitch was caught in a near Armbar, but had the correct answer as he shucked Foster to the side, and cinched a Side Choke/Rear-Naked Choke to seal the deal. It’s Fitch’s first finish in ten years.

Check out Jon Fitch strangle Brian Foster in the 2nd round:

Watch Brian Foster land some some heat on Jon Fitch:

Foster really does throw with bad intentions:

Herman Terrado def. Joao Zeferino by Split Decision (29-28 Z, 29-28 T, 30-27 T): Welterweight

After tasting the power of Terrado, Zeferino wisely shot in and took the fight down to the ground. Zeferino landed a few thudding elbows from the full guard of his opponent, before transitioning to half guard. Terrado scrambled back to his feet, finding top position, and ending the round in the dominant position.

Both men came out swinging for the fences, but a sloppy shot from Zeferino led to some well placed knees to the body for Terrado. Terrado started opening up with his ground strikes, as Zeferino began showing signs of slowing down. In an effort to land something huge, Terrado attempted a couple of diving Hulk smashes to the downed Zeferino.

Zeferino was slow to start the final frame, as Terrado appeared to be the fresher of the two. Zeferino attempted a takedown, but Terrado found separation to escape to open space. Both men fatigued, traded punches down the stretch, with Terrado seeming to be landed the better strikes.

**This fight aired after the main event**

The Daytona Plunge?

Watch Zeferino and Terrado throw some heat:

Jason High def. Caros Fodor by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3): Lightweight

Fodor went directly at his opponent, but High was able to secure top position, and land some short shots. Fodor was able to recover full guard, but ate some heavy leather for his troubles. High transitioned to the back momentarily, and then jumped to an ill-advised Guillotine. High was able to reverse position, but Fodor was able to make it back to his feet.

High blasted a takedown right off the bat, but Fodor was able to kick away his foe, and return to his feet. Both fighters struggled to maintain traction, as the outside bout was subjected to mother nature. Fodor scored a takedown, but failed to do much with it before High kicked his way to his feet. High blasted another beautiful takedown, slamming his opponent up against the fence. High finished the round on top, but it was Fodor that was connecting from the bottom.

High connected with a few punches on the feet before a shoddy takedown attempt gave Fodor the top position. The fight stalled out as High sat in a single leg attempt, with Fodor stuck in sprawl mode. Fodor would slowly maneuver his way to the top of High’s full guard, where he peppered his opponent with short strikes as the round came to a close. High went on to pick up the unanimous decision victory, and move to 1-0 in the new promotion.

Ronny Markes def. Smealinho Rama by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27): Light Heavyweight

Rama opened up the bout with some brutal body kicks that sent Markes backpedaling to the fence, but Markes responded with an expected takedown to change up the tempo. Rama would reverse the position, forcing Markes to make it back to his feet, where Rama began to unload his hands, connecting at a descent clip. Markes would throw a few naked head kicks, but failed to keep up with the volume of Rama as the opening round came to an end.

Rama called his own timeout :30 into the second round, due to an excess of water on the canvas as a result of the rain. Once the action resumed, Markes secured the takedown, and established control from half guard. Markes transitioned to full mount, but Rama was able to recover half guard rather quickly, just to get mounted again. Markes was able to spend the bulk of the round in top position, but was unable to score many strikes or inflict much of any damage.

Rama came out pressuring with strikes to start the 3rd round, but the rain-riddled canvas seemed to aid Markes in achieving the takedown. Rama had very few answers for the top control of Markes, but the lack of activity forced the referee to stand up the fighters. Rama landed a few clean strikes before entering the clinch as the final round came to a close. Markes picked up the unanimous decision in the PFL’s inaugural bout.