Rocking a mullet, getting mistaken for Big Country, plotting drunkenness at the airport to celebrate his UFC Boston win over Daniel Spitz — Tanner Boser certainly made an impression following his UFC debut.
Boston, MA — He looks like Big Country, mullet and all. Maybe call him North Country. Canadian Tanner Boser finally arrived in the UFC on Friday, earning a unanimous decision opposite Daniel Spitz.
The three-round scrap was a spirited one, and Alberta’s Boser (17-5-1) was in good spirits afterward, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “I’m chill man,” he answered when asked how he was feeling after the performance. A pretty laid back answer from a heavyweight who was just in a 15 minute scrap. “I did it. I did what I came here to do. Not injured, not even really tired, so I feel good.”
As in a fight, Boser seemed to loosen up the longer the post-fight interview went. Asked if there was any upside in his originally scheduled debut at UFC 240, against Giacomo Lemos, being cancelled, Boser gave a firm “no.”
“No, because I got super bummed, then I got drunk a bunch of times. Then I had to completely restart getting in shape after that,” he deadpanned. We’re pretty sure he’s serious.
Lemos was pulled from the PPV card in Edmonton after USADA flagged him for a doping violation. But Boser was never worried about an incident with Spitz.
“Daniel’s a professional, he’s had three fights in the UFC. He shows up, and I knew he was going to show up,” said Boser. “That other guy, I don’t even f*cking remember his name, I bet he’s cut already or something. So who cares about that guy.” But Daniels, he reiterated, is a professional, and Bosser was never worried about lightning striking twice.
Octagon jitters were not an issue either, it seems. “I felt good in there. I always feel good in there. I’m always ready,” he said. “It didn’t feel different to me in there than it has in other big leagues I’ve fought in. I’ve fought in big leagues, I’ve had twenty-two pro fights. There’s nothing that made me more nervous or anxious than anything else. It’s the same thing. Always the same sh*t.”
On whether there’s any benefit to racking up experience points outside the UFC, Boser hesitated to speak for others. If you can get to the big show early and start making money, he suggested, then why not? As for himself, “I took the long way in. I took every fight I was offered. I never turned down an opponent. I just fought and fought until I made my way there. So I came in as a new fighter in the UFC with a lot of experience.”
“I’ve fought a lot of the best guys all over the world already,” he added.
As for the reaction to the fight, “I sometimes hear the crowd booing, because they want a couple heavyweights to walk in and just close their eyes and slug,” he noted. Which isn’t his style. “I’ve got rent to pay, so I need that win bonus. I’m going to go in there and get a methodical win. Some of my fights go to decision. But I feel like I’m very technical for a heavyweight. Hopefully people can appreciate what I do.”
Overall, they seemed to in Boston, even cheering the Alberta boy over the American Spitz.
Boser’s suggestion as to why, well, that’s “because I have a mullet, and people like that for some reason. They think it’s funny, and they get on your side.” And while he did have some supporters out from Alberta, there wasn’t that many. Maybe it was just all the Roy Nelson fans in the crowd. “I did hear people during the fight like ‘go Big Country!’ I’ve got that in every fight I’ve ever been in probably, except the ones in Russia, unless they were just yelling it in Russian and I couldn’t understand it.”
Boser later explained that after each fight, win or lose, he takes a week off. Celebration starts Friday night, but it won’t be at any pub in Boston. “We’ve got to be at the airport at 3:30 in the morning,” he revealed, “so I’m going to get super drunk at the airport.”
Watch the full UFC Boston post-fight press scrum with Tanner Boser above!
