UFC Fight Night: Tanner Boser vs Gokhan Saricam Preview & Prediction
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Canadian veteran Tanner Boser makes his UFC return on home soil after three years, welcoming Turkish heavyweight Gokhan Saricam for his promotional debut.
Tanner Boser vs Gokhan Saricam facts
What time are Tanner Boser and Gokhan Saricam expected to walk out?
Where is UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott? Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Canada
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 273
What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott main card
Gilbert Burns vs Mike Malott (Welterweight)
Kyler Phillips vs Charles Jourdain (Bantamweight)
Mandel Nallo vs Jai Herbert (Lightweight)
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Karine Silva (Women’s Flyweight)
Thiago Moises vs Gauge Young (Lightweight)
Dennis Buzukja vs Marcio Barbosa (Featherweight)
UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott prelims
Julien Leblanc vs Robert Valentin (Middleweight)
Tanner Boser vs Gokhan Saricam (Heavyweight)
Melissa Croden vs Darya Zheleznyakova (Women’s Bantamweight)
JJ Aldrich vs Jamey Lyn Horth (Women’s Flyweight)
John Castaneda vs Mark Vologdin (Bantamweight)
Jamie Siraj vs John Yannis (Bantamweight)
Tanner Boser: Is it too late for “The Bulldozer” to enter a second prime?
Tanner Boser (22-10-1) returns to the UFC for the first time since 2023, where he went 5-5 in his previous stint in the promotion. Since leaving the UFC, the 34-year-old Canadian earned his way back with a third round retirement TKO over Vinicius Moreira at UAE Warriors last June. Boser is an undersized, technical heavyweight striker who’s lighter on his feet than most at 265 pounds. He mixes clean boxing with leg and switch kicks at range. In his last fight against Moreira, he dug deep showing proper hustle to work back to his feet after being controlled for most of the first round before systematically picking his opponent apart at range for the rest of the fight. Even though 34 is normally prime age for heavyweights, the question here is whether Boser is way past it now or entering a second prime.
Gokhan Saricam: Powerful Turk Makes his UFC debut
Gokhan Saricam (11-2) arrives in the UFC riding a three-fight win streak; a decision victory over Daniel James before closing out his regional run with back-to-back first-round finishes over Natalicio Filho and Hyago Silva. The Turkish-Belgian heavyweight has fast hands, decent calf kicks, and explosive power early in his fights. Saricam has shown some wrestling too, he has a go-to outside foot trip and vicious ground-and-pound to complement it. Saricam’s two losses to Mowry and Popov exposed his weakness against better wrestlers who can control him, also showing how his output can drop as the rounds tick on.
Tanner Boser vs Gokhan Saricam prediction
Saricam holds the clear advantage in explosive power and finishing potential, he has a natural heavyweight size compared to Boser, who has always been undersized at heavyweight, and even weighs into some light heavyweight bouts a few pounds below the boundary. Disregarding his nickname, Boser is actually the more technical striker with a broader arsenal on the feet along with better cardio, but has been inactive for nearly three years and doesn’t carry the kind of sting on his shots to deter a powerful puncher crashing in.
Since Boser doesn’t have great wrestling, Saricam should look to close the distance early and use his outside foot trip. Boser has way more experience at this higher level and will expect it, so Gokhan will need to set this up with the striking. If the fight ends up on the floor, expect Saricam to use his size and power to ground-and-pound his way to a first round finish. The first round is where most the real threat lives. Of Gokhan’s finishes, only one has come past the first round, and even that was a ref stoppage rather than a clean knockout. If Boser can weather the early storm, Saricam’s power and volume should fade, opening the door for the Canadian to pick him apart at range with his more dynamic striking.
Boser’s last loss came by knockout from Ion Cutelaba, but that was three years ago so you’d think his chin has recovered since then. The most likely outcomes here are a Saricam first-round knockout, or a Boser decision. Given Boser’s inactivity, and the jump up in weight class, I’ll lean towards the Turk finding the finish.
Prediction: Gokhan Saricam to win by KO/TKO in round one
