Tanner Boser’s back again in the UFC octagon.
Boser (17-5-1) will go to war with fast-rising prospect Ciryl Gane (5-0) in a heavyweight affair Saturday at UFC Busan in Busan, South Korea.
Boser, 28, said he feels this is a well-matched fight where neither he or Gane have a distinct advantage anywhere the fight goes.
“I think we match up pretty evenly in a lot of areas. I don’t think there’s any area where either one of us has a glaring advantage over the other,” said Boser in an interview with MMA Empire.
“I’d be willing to bet I’m tougher. I’m a pretty durable guy, I have a good chin, and he’s relatively untested in MMA in that area.”
With 23 fights to his name compared to Gane’s five, Boser holds the significant edge in MMA experience, on paper.
But despite his substantial edge in cage time, Boser said he doesn’t believe it’s an aspect that will factor into the fight.
“He has a lot of kickboxing fights. He still has around 20 pro fights, so I don’t really have that many more fights than him,” said Boser.
“When it comes to overall professional fighting experience, I don’t really see a massive difference between us.”
Another Opponent, Another Win
Starting with his UFC debut in August, Gane has rattled off two impressive wins by finish in under three months, leaving no shortage of hype surrounding the Frenchman.
Boser said he’s well aware of the high praise surrounding Gane, but said he doesn’t feel a win over Gane will necessarily put him in that same position.
“I recognize that he’s a pretty hyped prospect in heavyweight right now, but I don’t think me beating him transfers the hype to me,” said Boser.
“But if and when I beat him, it’s another win bonus for me and I get another opponent. I don’t give a f**k.”
Boser made his UFC debut back in October at UFC Boston, taking home a dominant unanimous decision win over Daniel Spitz.
While everything feels the same to him once he’s in the cage, Boser said there was one area of fighting for the UFC that stood out to him above other promotions, a facet he said he enjoyed.
“You have a time when your fight is; you have a schedule. Last time, I’m walking out the door to fight at 6:02. That’s when I’m walking out to fight,” said Boser.
“In other promotions, especially local promotions, you fight when the fight in front of you is done. When you’re warming up in that situation, you don’t know whether those fights are going to end quick or all go the distance, so sometimes you have to stay warm longer than others. Knowing exactly when you’re going to walkout was different, and it was cool.”
Boser’s Shoutouts
“I’d like to thank my sponsors (Paul Peddle Services, Premier Built Garages, MealKraft) and all my coaches and teammates.” Follow Boser on social media: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM
