CHICAGO – Brian Foster wasn’t so sure he was winning his fight against Ramsey Nijem in the third round Thursday night.

His cornermen told him he needed to get after it. And get after it, he did. Foster (28-10) landed a jumping knee against Nijem (9-7) and dropped him to the canvas. A few follow-up shots later, and Foster had a rather remarkable 27th finish in 28 career wins.

Foster’s win came in the lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League’s inaugural season in the co-main event at Chicago Theatre in Chicago. The main card aired on NBCSN following prelims on Facebook. Foster and 11 other fighters in the division have a pair of regular-season fights in which they’ll earn points to qualify for this fall’s playoffs. At the end, the winners in each of six divisions will take home $1 million each.

Foster’s fight was nearly a year since a loss to Jon Fitch in a welterweight title bout in Florida that saw him tear his ACL. Just coming back from the injury was a momentous occassion for the UFC veteran.

I think my biggest dilemma was coming off the year layoff,” Foster told MMAjunkie after the fight. “An ACL injury is not something that is easily overcome. Last June, almost a year to the day, I tore my ACL in Daytona. I questioned it just like everyone else: How long have I got? What do I still offer? I’m just not done. I’ve got so much more to prove I feel like. This is probably the toughest year I’ve had when it comes to competing in mixed martial arts – the biggest layoff.

“So to come back and to be able to put on a good performance, not get totally demolished or beat down or finished, it feels great. I feel like it’s well deserved – me, my gym, my team, my coaches, my kids, we all deserve this.”

Foster picked up four points with the win – three points for the victory and a bonus point for a third-round stoppage. Fighters accumulate points in their two regular-season bouts in an attempt to qualify for the eight-man playoff field in each division.

That extra point could turn out to be important for Foster, but given his penchant for finishing fights, could anyone really be surprised he did it again, regardless of the round?

“That’s just me in general – it’s not so much about the format,” he said. “That’s just who I am. I don’t like (going to a finish). … I’m the favorite – and I better be. I put a lot of work into this. I don’t take it easy. I’m a workhorse. … I’m not letting this go too easy at all.

“I’ve never lost twice in a row, and I’ve never lost the same way twice. And that’s going to be the case until I retire. I’m not that guy that’s gonna take six knockouts to figure out, ‘Oh, I better hang ’em up.’ That’s not me. I have way too big of a heart, and I’m way too damn good at what I do.”

For more from Foster, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of PFL 2, check out the MMA Events section of the site.