Tanner Boser wanted a quick turnaround fight, and he got it.
MMA Junkie was first to report that Ovince Saint Preux will be fighting Boser next week on June 26 at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov. OSP was originally supposed to fight Maxim Grishim at light heavyweight but will instead be taking his second fight at heavyweight against Boser. Boser would confirm the booking on social media.
Former light heavyweight title challenger Saint Preux (25-15) hasn’t had the best stretch of fights in the past few years. Since going on his three-fight win streak in 2017, OSP has alternated wins and losses. He went 1-2 in 2020, which included his unsuccessful heavyweight debut against Ben Rothwell. The Tennessee native rebounded by knocking Alonzo Menifield unconscious in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 9 last September. OSP would end the year on a loss when prospect Jamahal Hill finished him via strikes in the second round — the first time Saint Preux had been finished via TKO since 2016.
After starting his 2020 out with a bang with two knockouts, Boser (19-8-1) has now lost two in a row, granted in very close decisions. The Canadian knocked out Philipe Lins and then Raphael Pessoa on ‘Fight Island’ to earn a Performance of the Night. Boser would end his year losing a unanimous decision against UFC veteran Andrei Arlovski. Just two weeks ago, he fought Ilir Latifi but lost a controversial split decision.
UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov will take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas and broadcast on ESPN+.
With the latest addition, the UFC’s June 26 fight card now includes the following match-ups:
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Timur Valiev
- Tanner Boser vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Tim Elliott vs. Su Mudaerji
- Michel Prazeres vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
- Justin Jaynes vs. Charles Rosa
- Danilo Marques vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
- Isaac Villanueva vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Warlley Alves vs. TBD
- Renato Moicano vs. Jai Herbert
- Nicolas Dalby vs. Tim Means
- Julija Stoliarenko vs. Julia Avila
- Daniel Pineda vs. Andre Fili
- Yancy Medeiros vs. Damir Hadžović
