After his debut earlier this year was scuttled, Tanner Boser finally arrived in the UFC on Friday, relying on leg kicks and his left hand to best Daniel Spitz via decision.
Heavyweight action kicked off the UFC Boston card Friday night at the TD Garden in Boston, MA. And with it, Canada’s Tanner Boser finally got to make his promotional debut. He had been booked in at UFC 240 in Edmonton back in July, only for opponent Giacomo Lemos to drop off the card after being flagged by USADA.
In Boston, Boser was paired up with Daniel Spitz, who last fought in June of 2018, suffering a loss to Walt Harris.
Boser connected with an overhand right early, following it up with a leg kick. Another leg kick, to the outside, followed, and the lanky Spitz seemed ripe for that sort of attack. Spitz switched stances, but another leg kick landed regardless. No one-trick pony, Boser would later add a body kick. Spitz would fire a couple of kicks of his own, but at least early, Boser had the edge in volume and power. In the final minute he’d catch Spitz with a left behind the ear, the hardest strike, perhaps, of the opening round.
Round two saw Boser continue to succeed with his leg kick. His overhand left was still looking dangerous as well. Spitz was coming forward, but not really using his length as well as he could be. He’d fire off a 1-2 combo about 90 seconds in, which at least got Boser’s attention. Boser’s answer would be that left hand. Spitz, meanwhile, was starting to show damage on his lead leg. Boser opened up a bit in the final seconds of the round, connecting several times, and likely taking a 20-18 lead into the third.
Boser would continue to work his kicks in the third, targeting the mid-section as well as Spitz’s spindly legs. A low-percentage spinning attack would land for Tanner, the leg kicks continued, and the left hand found home often enough. With two minutes remaining in the frame, Spitz needed to turn up the heat if he wanted to make something happen. He finally did near the one-minute mark, connecting with a right hand. That caught Boser, but didn’t do enough damage for Spitz to really capitalize on. The pair had one final flurry, but even then it was Boser getting the better of the exchange.
Official Result: Tanner Boser def. Daniel Spitz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
