Runaway ‘Bulldozer’ Headed Towards Free Agency

The Canadian heavyweight turned 205er is reportedly deciding to test the free agent market and was removed from the active UFC roster.

Canadian MMA fans reacted in dismay on Thursday afternoon (August 17th, 2023) when Albertan light heavyweight Tanner Boser’s name showed up as ‘released’ on the infamous UFC Roster Watch Twitter account.

UFC Roster Watch is an automated account that tracks the addition or removal of fighters from the promotion’s official list of athletes. The big red X next to Boser’s name indicated he’d been taken off that list, leading to all sorts of speculation as to why.

“Bulldozer” has had an up-and-down career with the UFC. He started as a heavyweight with a 3-1 run, losing only to contender Ciryl Gane in his second fight. He then went on a 1-4 skid culminating with a first round TKO loss to Ion Cutelaba in his light heavyweight return. Most recently he took a cautious but dominant decision win over Aleksa Camur at UFC Nashville in August.

So why did the UFC release him following a win?

According to TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, “Boser fought out his contract with his win over Aleksa Camur and is pursuing free agency.”

Leading up to his fight with Camur, Boser said he’d asked to fight out the last bout on his current contract rather than renegotiate on a slump. He also mentioned that he’d returned to his job as a bouncer following a yearlong injury layoff in 2022 because he was ‘broke.’

Boser also expressed his annoyance with the UFC sponsorship system, which forces fighters to rep companies who often don’t pay them.

“I have Venum, who actually gives me money,” he told James Lynch. “Not every f—kface company that puts their logo all over my s—t that I don’t get a single penny from like Crypto.com and all those other ones. [They] can go eat a f—king dick. And ‘The Rock’s’ [Dwayne Johnson] shoes can go f—k themselves, too. So, thank you to Venum for actually paying me to wear their s—t.”

Now Boser will have a chance to test out the free agency market and hopefully find a home that allows him to leave bouncing behind and rep his own sponsors. Anyone in the market for a foul-mouthed big boy from Alberta?