For most mixed martial arts practitioners in their mid-30s who are not at the most elite level of the championship scene, virtually every next step into the cage represents a crossroads experience.
Win and remain relevant, or lose and face increased job insecurity.
Such a win-or-else scenario has been the backdrop for several of Tim Boetsch’s most recent Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.
Two years ago the 35-year-old Lincolnville native came home to Maine needing a victory to resuscitate his presence in the middleweight division of the world’s top MMA promotion and scored a stunning second-round TKO over Brad Tavares to highlight the UFC’s first foray into the Pine Tree State at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.
The UFC will make its South Dakota debut this week in a rare Wednesday night show, and the former four-time state wrestling champion from Camden-Rockport High School may need another dramatic victory to ensure that his MMA career will continue at the highest level.
Boetsch (18-10) will seek to end a three-fight losing streak when he takes on Floridian Josh Samman (12-4) in a three-round middleweight matchup on the main card of UFC Fight Night 91 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Boetsch has not won since his return to Maine in August 2014, and consecutive losses to Thales Laites by second-round submission at UFC 183 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 31, 2015; Dan Henderson by one-punch knockout 28 seconds into their main event in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 6, 2015; and Ed Herman by second-round knockout (knee) this past Jan. 17 in Boston, Massachusetts, has left “The Barbarian’s” UFC status in a perilous position.
Boetsch moved up to light heavyweight to fight Herman but will return to the 185-pound middleweight division to face Samman, whose own three-fight winning streak was halted by a third-round submission loss to Tamdan McCrory last Dec. 19 in Orlando, Florida.
Samman’s prior winning streak included two $50,000 performance bonuses, and he hopes to use similar aggression against Boetsch, who earned similar bonuses in his win over Tavares and in his loss to Laites, a fight-of-the-night selection.
“Tim has a wealth of experience and can’t be overlooked,” said Samman on UFC.com. “Still, he has defensive liabilities that have been exploited in recent fights, and I plan to do the same as his last two opponents. He will crumble under my precision and power.”
The 28-year-old Samman, at 6-foot-3, will have a 3-inch height advantage over Boetsch, who had trained for his last four fights at Team Irish MMA Fitness Academy in Brewer under former UFC contender Marcus Davis.
Boetsch has teamed up again with Davis for this fight, but this time the training camp was in North Carolina, where Davis and his family moved earlier this year.
The UFC Fight Night 91 main card will be televised live on FS1 beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
