The Bulldozer is back in action.
Canada's Tanner Boser (17-6-1) steps back into the octagon to face the ex-PFL heavyweight champion, Brazil's Philipe Lins (14-4) in heavyweight competition Saturday night at UFC Vegas 4 in Las Vegas, NV.
Boser, 28, sees no obvious vulnerabilities in Lins' skill set and figures the matchup won't be easy once the cage door shuts.
"I know he's a jiu-jitsu black belt, but he considers himself a striker. He likes to strike, he's reasonably technical, and he's reasonably powerful. He's a well-rounded guy and he knows how to win," said Boser in an interview with MMA Empire.
"He's a fairly highly-touted newcomer to the UFC and I think, stylistically, it's going to be an exciting fight and a good fight. I expect it'll be very competitive, but I think I have a skill set that will beat him."
After winning his UFC debut against Daniel Spitz at UFC Boston, Boser fell via unanimous decision in his second UFC outing to surging prospect Ciryl Gane at UFC Busan in December.
Boser said that while he believes he's grown as a fighter since that loss, he couldn't point to one particular area of his game that he learned from.
"You learn from every fight in some ways, but some ways you can't even quantify it and put it into words. You just get back to the gym and you're a little better and a little sharper," said Boser.
"I can't think of a single thing I knowingly, cognitively took from the Ciryl Gane loss. I just got outplayed. It was a good fight and Gane's a really good fighter."
Boser keeps same mindset with or without crowd
Both of Boser's previous two UFC fights happened in packed arenas, but Saturday's bout will take place in nearly the exact opposite situation with no spectators at the UFC Apex.
Boser said that while he rarely focuses on the audience anyway, there are notable technical adjustments to make when competing in a quieter environment.
"I don't think it will bother me; it doesn't matter to me either way. I don't let the pressure of big crowds or big events go to my head. Those aren't things I care about; just like no crowd, I don't care about that. Either way, I have a job to do, which is to try and beat the s**t out of whoever I'm fighting," said Boser.
"But technically, there are things you have to consider; you can hear their corner and they can hear your corner. In between rounds, your corner is trying to talk quiet so the other corner can't hear. The commentators are sometimes almost giving advice because they're saying what a fighter should do differently. If you get kicked in the nuts, you can take all five minutes and there's no one there booing you. It's different, but I don't think I'm going to mind it."
Throughout his UFC tenure, and his MMA career overall, Boser has shown remarkable durability, going the distance in 13 of his 24 professional bouts, including both of his UFC appearances.
With the well-rounded games both fighters possess, Boser expects a grueling, three-round battle this Saturday.
"I think we're both skilled and tough, and I don't think either one of us is going to put the other away," said Boser.
"I expect to be able to be dominant the entire time, so I'm going to predict myself winning by decision."
Boser's Shoutouts
"I'd like to thank Jeff Montemurro at Shaved Bears MMA, Keijiro Noda at Frank Lee's Muay Thai, and my sponsors (Paul Peddle Services, Premier Built Garages, MealKraft). Follow Boser on social media: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM
