Bosse’s UFC debut is unlikely to involve getting a chair thrown at him, but it will most certainly be decided under MMA rules. That is, of course, in reference to his infamous Strike Box bout against James “The Colossus” Thompson, during which apparent confusion over a modified rule set caused unruly fans to get overly engaged in the match. As long as Bosse can avoid pulling a full Cody McKenzie I don’t think he’ll run afoul of too many Zuffa specific regulations. The UFC reported his signing on Wednesday via Twitter, Bosse will face off against Ryan Jimmo at the TUF Nations Finale.
Quebec’s 10-1 Steve ‘The Boss’ Bosse has verbally agreed to make his UFC debut April 16 in Quebec City against Halifax’s 18-3 @RyanJimmo
— UFC News (@UFCNews) February 19, 2014
The 32 year old trains out of Tristar Gym in Montreal, alongside Georges St-Pierre, Francis Carmont, and the rest of the crew under Firas Zahabi. His record, while not particularly long, is fairly impressive, standing at 10-1 with seven first round TKOs. He has wins over Marvin Eastman, Houston Alexander, and Wes Sims (2008 Wes Sims) under his belt, making him one of the more accomplished light heavyweights on the regional scene. His background as a semi-pro hockey enforcer is an odd one to be sure, but it at least ensures that he will almost certainly have the raw toughness and aggression that MMA often requires.
Watching Bosse fight, he’s a surprisingly decent offensive striker. He has fast hands and throws punches well in combination. As might be expected of a well coordinated athlete, he’s also very accurate on his strikes; even when the technique isn’t quite there, he tends to find the mark with precision. Obviously, as a leftover from his hockey years, he’s got a pretty decent dirty boxing game in the clinch, but throws knees well, with power on the inside too. He doesn’t have much of a kicking game, which may be troublesome against a fighter like Jimmo, depending on which version of Ryan Jimmo shows up. His overall wrestling skills are a bit hit or miss. He can overextend himself a bit in striking, making him a target for takedown opportunities, and he looks very unsure of himself when shooting for takedowns. But he drops well from the clinch for doubles (although he mainly tries to muscle opponents down once he’s got his hands locked) and is decent, if not excellent in maintaining top control. He’s not a great grappler, that I can see, but he does use the butterfly guard to decent effect to create space and stand up from the bottom.
Beyond his grappling (which I assume is largely nonexistent) Bosse’s notable deficiency appears to be in his striking defense. His defensive striking isn’t terrible, but he holds his head high and torso straight when he punches. He moves well going in and out of strikes, so it’s not as big a liability as it could be. But, he’s definitely hittable mid-combination. All told he could have the ability to beat Ryan Jimmo, just with his power and accuracy alone, but it’s most likely Jimmo’s fight to lose as he has everything he needs to control Bosse against the cage or at range.
Unfortunately there’s no good footage to get us acquainted with the fighter Bosse is right now. 2.5 year old film of him facing Houston Alexander is nice enough for looking at his trends as a fighter, but it’s not great. So, so here’s some footage of one of his hockey fights instead.
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