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Ep. #18 – Tanner Boser

Tanner Boser is a mixed martial artist fighting out of Alberta, Canada who competes in the UFC Heavyweight division. He was also the Unified MMA Heavyweight Champion prior to signing with the UFC.

Transcript

Tanner Boser: So uh, how are things going in quarantine and how’s training going? Well, I mean obviously can’t really train you just do your best around around the place. I don’t have much to go with, but oh well, yeah. You got any like weights or anything like that. Anything uh I’ve said this before I. I got a pair of 40 pound dumbbells, the medicine ball in a skipping rope and I’m doing doing the best with what I got you know. Are you uh? Are you back home in Bonneville? Are you in the city here? Okay, what so, what was it like growing up in Bonneville? Is that is it a farm town ah sort of if there’s farms lots worms around it, but it’s an oilfield town. I don’t know it’s a smaller town, I guess town of about five to seven thousand. I’M not really sure where it’s at right now, but I I mean I I liked growing up there, but that’s all I knew yeah so well. What’S the what’s the word on your next fight? Obviously, you’re expected to fight Geoff Hughes, lots of cancellations and postponements and fight boats and fight islands and fighting on the moon. So what it what’s the status of that fight is that is that still up in the air or I I think that the matchup will remain the same as far as I know, but we’re all waiting to see a fight island which Dana White swears up and Down is going to happen starting in mid to late. May you know, there’s the card on May 9th that again we’re all waiting, we’re all waiting to see and make sure it happens, but that one is in the states just not confirmed where everybody suspects for it. All right, yeah, but yeah if fight Island or or if they can get me to the States either way I don’t care I’m down and I’ll be you know, is ready to go as I can be so you’re good to go, even if they got a call From May 9th yeah, I don’t care, hey um, so you’ve also got some high quality guys there. You know you’ve got guys like Teddy ash and and the Bueller’s. Obviously you don’t get to get training camps in with them. How long do you think it’ll be before those guys get picked up by an organization like the UFC Teddy Ashe in particular, okay well, Teddy, had had to fight on contender series. He lost that, I don’t know teddy [ __ ] all should just be one win away. I think I mean especially on short notice. Teddy always shows up he’s, always exciting and he’s uh he’s a great fighter. Kb KB, I think, can get signed right away. He just got a C he’s rehabbing an injury, so everything’s kind of on hold for Kb, but I know KB was at least in talks in contact with them a little bit yeah those the two guys you want to know. I mean Christian Larson he’s. Obviously, in Grand Park are obviously close to getting getting opportunities in bigger leagues or internationally, rather maybe not necessarily UFC, but maybe Bellator or maybe you know a CA or m1 or something like that. You’Ve had a you’ve had a much longer road than a lot of people to get in the UFC, especially in the heavyweight division. I find the heavyweight division isn’t as stacked as it once was, and a lot of guys, particularly your last opponent, and even guys like Greg Hardy, have you know within two or three fights they’re knocking on the door for the UFC you’ve had 20-something fights before you Got the call, what was it like to get the call to finally compete for the biggest organization in the world, and do you think that’s the way to go more fights, or do you think if you get the call take it there’s no one way to go For everybody, it depends on the individual. You know I’m happy that my career went the way it did and is going the way it is. I I’m glad I have the experience fighting really good guys. You know I’ve done all I’ve done five rounds. I’Ve had fast fights I’ve done. I fought a lot of guys and I got a lot of cage time and I think that that’s to my advantage, but if somebody you know, is running through everybody wherever they’re at and like you mentioned cereal gone, I mean if he gets signed at porno and He proves that he’s not only good enough to be there, but pretty elite, then good for him like there’s. No there’s no road set in stone. It depends on the person I mean. If you can hang you can hang it doesn’t really matter. You’Re you’re now one in one in the in the UFC. What was it like? Obviously your first opponent had to pull out and you you got a short notice opponent. I guess for your for your debut win. What was it like to get that one and compare it? I guess I mean there’s been obviously nerves and UFC jitters comes to mind when people make their debut did you did you feel any of that? Oh yeah so um, I, my fight got cancelled because Lemos pulled out the day before weigh-in, so my fight against Daniel Spitz wasn’t sure noticed for either of us with training camp and we fought in Boston in October instead of Edmonton in July I had no UFC Jitters, it was the same old thing. Like I mean I had how many fights do I have 24 24, so I mean I I’d already had 22 fights. I I know that the UFC jitters everybody claims it. The thing and many fighters say it’s the thing, but it didn’t affect me at all. You mentioned your first fight was gon na be in Edmonton and there are talks or there there was supposed to be a fight in Saskatoon. If, if that, if that opens up, is that something you’re looking forward to, and would you be more excited to fight close to home? Or are you someone who likes fighting abroad? I’Ve fought abroad a lot and I wouldn’t be opposed to having one close to home. I’M good with either I’m good with fighting the soonest. If you can get me on the soonest card and let me fight and let me get paid that’s ideal, I don’t believe Saskatoon is gon na happen. I can’t see how it would. Canada is very, very unlock down and there’s no way they can get a bunch of international fighters. Here I could be wrong if that card happens and I’m not already on schedule to be on post-flight card on quite island or whatever. Then you that would be great, but my priority is: is fighting soonest, not particular location, yeah yeah, I’m in Nova, Scotia and the lockdown here is pretty pretty crazy. You can’t really get out much the same sort of thing. They’Re, like you, get fined if you’re out on the street, no, no, you! You can get fined if you’re, whatever running and in a non-essential business or something running a non-essential business or in groups. I think I think you can get in trouble of like groups above ten people, but I’m not a hundred percent sure. I know you can get fined if you’re in a park. They closed all parks and stuff like that, but no they don’t really limit like how many times a day. You could, for instance, go to the grocery store or something like that. Yeah, you still, you do security right, so I’m assuming you’re not doing that at the moment. Yeah! That’S correct! Yeah, that’s! Obviously everything I shut down, which is fine. You know um. So then there’s uh, there’s talk. Well I mean Rosen strike and in Ghana are clashing. I guess they’re at UFC 249, supposedly what are your thoughts on that fight? Obviously it’s in your division, two very very big guys. Obviously Rosen story came out and said it should be for an interim title and gone to agrees. Is that something you agree with, or is it something that you don’t really care about? I hunted percent. Don’T care they’re, gon na fight either way I don’t give a [ __ ]. If it’s for an answer, it’s it’s gon na, be a really wicked fight. I’M looking forward to watching the fight, because there’s no way that’s not fireworks, but you know either guy is is so far above me and the rankings that it’s to me, it’s inconsequential all the way down into. Do you uh? What are your thoughts on it? Dear? Your predictions on it well yeah, that’s that’s how I have it going, but I mean they both hit really hard. So so, who knows how it’s going to go? What about what about Tony and Gaetti? If that fight were to happen, i I think that prevailing theory is that tony’s tony’s, the man and we need to see him fight to be, but devi comes outta. The gate really hot and gets so hard and Tony isn’t afraid to take some shots and engage. He hits so hard and Tony loses the first round a decent amount and then just shreds guys up in and wins later in the fight uh. You know what I think, especially if DG was an underdog. I think I’d bet on gage yeah. That’S how I have it. I just think like if, if Tony can weather the storm, Tony yeah or things can change in a five-round fight. I don’t know who’s gon na beat that maniac and you know in round four and five right, but early on man. I don’t know it’s possible to that: gage II could take one two and three and then you’re looking at that for Justin just late. It’S it’s a really interesting fight. I’M excited to watch that happen. Yeah. I think I’m more excited for that one than I would have been Tony khabib. Obviously the history makes me more excited for khabib and Tony, but I think fight wise. I would not sit down for the for the Tony Gates. Fight I’d, be on my feet. The entire time yeah I I again it doesn’t matter to me, which might happens both – are good fights and I have no stake in the cave there. So it doesn’t make a difference to me if it’s Tony versus could be for Tony versus JJ. As far as I’m concerned, both of those fights are great and hopefully both happen. At some point you started, you started your career, I guess in karate right, you started doing karate. What was the? What was a transition like to MMA? It was a big learning curve. I I did karate from when I was 11 to when I was like 19 18 19. So I thought that I would just be good to go cuz. I was a dumb kid and I was it, but I had a lot of learning to do and you know I had to get put in my place a few times, but you I’m thankful for all of those lessons and experiences. But it’s definitely it’s definitely not a straight transition. You got a you got to adapt, even the things you think you know what was the. What was the hardest Trent like what was the hardest martial art to get into? Was it jiu-jitsu wrestling I’d say wrestling? Probably, for me, yeah learning wrestling is when, when you started a striking jujitsu for me at least came easier than wrestling, I like to think nowadays, I’m pretty well-rounded but yeah. I think I think learning learning how to yeah. I do. I do a little bit of jiu-jitsu and when I first I was like I’ll try some MoIT. I took my first shot to the body and I was like that’s that’s not for me um. So it’s it’s funny how like, if you feel comfortable in one martial art, you’d, think that a quick transition to another one would come naturally, but it was a it’s definitely not not that way. I’M sorry yeah, it’s just you, can you can do and slow it slow it down and you can you can you can roll slow and you can practice you can go light, but in wrestling wrestling is a lot of Drive a lot of grind and if you’re Very specific, you know muscles aren’t acclimated to wrestling moves and the way they fatigue in a wrestling match. It’S just really really hard to work, your body up to the point where it becomes efficient at that, whereas I feel like it’s easier to become efficient, that you get to as somebody who hasn’t grappled at all, but obviously neither one is easy yeah. What is there? Is there a fight or a fighter that got you into into MMA yeah lyoto machida, I when he was winning in October Silva and they were both undefeated and you know he fight very karate ish and I thought like I was a big fan of his when I was a teenager and I was like I can you know. I think I could do that not like achieve what he achieved or anything like that. But, oh, my god I can, I think, maybe quite a bit like that was that was it yeah yeah. For me was three: was rampage but different reasons, just anger I was like I can relate to that guy. So that’s he’s the guy that got me into it yeah. So your last fight was against Cyril Cyril GaN. I don’t know how to pronounce his name properly. He had a lot of hype, a lot of power, great submissions, you’re, the only person that took him to to decision your thoughts on his fighting style and do you think he’s got a lot of hype behind him or do you think he’s as legit as they Come well he’s gon na look. I got a lot of hype behind him, but it’s not unmerited he’s earned it. In my opinion, at least now he’s earned it like to me. Maybe the other people, it’s still a lot of unjustified height, but he beat me fair and square. So I got a I got, ta believe it um truthfully. I don’t see a ton of bad matchups for I’m outside of. I want to see him versus Curtis blades. That’S a hard matchup I in LA I think, but who knows he’s he’s good he’s good man. His fighting style is technical, but he’ll mix it up and he’s strong and he hits hard he’s quick. He switches dances, he’s tricky, there’s he’s a dynamic guy as as for you, obviously you’ve got a big test ahead of you, so you probably don’t want to see too far into the future. Is there a fighter in the heavyweight division that you’ve had your eyes on that you want to fight or you just I don’t care. I really don’t. I really don’t care like. I want to fight as often as I can, which, unfortunately, right now, this is not my idea, I’ll fight, Jeff Hughes or if it’s not Jeff, Hughes, I’ll fight, someone else. I just want to fight frequently. I don’t have my eye on a particular anyone ice. I seriously don’t care, I don’t have any kind of grudges, you know what I mean against and you know I get Maurice Greene to turn me down for some reason and applaud in August. So I mean I guess I could guess I could fight him, but I’d seriously I don’t care yeah. I think that’s uh, I mean my favorite fighter personally is Donald Cerrone for that same mentality, and I think a lot of people like guys like that who just don’t care bring it on, like you, said, doesn’t matter where it doesn’t matter who, just as long as It’S happening often so uh. Thank you for taking the time man. I appreciate it and hope to see you out there soon, maybe on a fight boat, maybe on the moon, maybe in Florida who knows but hope to see you soon, man, okay, thanks all right. Man. Thanks for taking the time, yeah no worries, take it easy yeah. You too

Sergio Pineiro

Sergio Pineiro is the Founder of FighterPath.com and host of the Quarantinecast podcast. Based in Canada he is both a sports journalist and MMA enthusiast. He practices the sport but has a passion for the individual stories of training, fighting and living the fighting lifestyle.

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