UFC Boston: 3 of the best fights to take place in Boston

With the UFC returning to Boston for another big event we take a look at the three biggest fights that were ever held in Boston.

The UFC first visited Boston, MA back in 2010, when a pair of well-known lightweights battled it out for a championship bout. That fight featuring Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn opened the door for many more stars to grace the TD Garden and bring quality fights to the fans of Boston.

Boston is a city that has always been passionate about their sports, from the Red Sox to the Bruins and the Patriots, the fans of “Beantown” support their own loud and proud. In the handful of times, the UFC has made the trip to Boston, the fights have been entertaining and full of action and excitement.

Now the UFC is returning with a light heavyweight title contention bout featuring Dominic Reyes and Chris Weidman. To get pumped for this upcoming event lets take a look at some of the best fights from past UFC events in Boston.

1.  Calvin Kattar vs. Shane Burgos at UFC 220

The most recent trip to Boston was UFC 220. That event was held in the TD Garden and was headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. The main and co-main events featured the two champions from the heaviest weight classed but it was the smaller fighters who stole the show earlier in the night. Featherweights Calvin Kattar and Shane Burgos came to Boston ready to brawl and that is exactly what they did.

Kattar was born and raised in Massachusetts so he was ready to put on a show in front of his home crowd. Burgos hails from New York and the rivalry between the two cities was about to carry over into the Octagon. The fight began with both men standing and hitting each other with everything they had. Neither was willing to back down or back up. They fought the majority of the first round just inches from each other landing jabs back and forth.

In the second round, Burgos found his range and began landing some nice low leg kicks and some front kicks to the body. With no sign of slowing down, both fighters were satisfied saying on the feet and looking for that bog shot to end it all. The big shot finally came in third when Kattar landed a right hand that wobbled Burgos. He followed it up immediately with another right that put Burgos on the canvas. Kattar jumped on him and finished the fight with a flurry of shots.

The hometown crowd went wild as Kattar jumped on the top of the cage. The big win for Kattar was also the first loss for Burgos. In his post-fight interview, Kattar talked about how getting that big win at home was a dream come true.

2. Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem

The second time the UFC took the trip to Boston was on Aug 17, 2013. The event was headlined by Chael Sonnen who defeated Maurício Shogun Rua. That night four fights were finished by KO, but the biggest of the night was that of Travis Browne. Browne was coming into the fight with Alistair Overeem having won his last fight and was making his way up the UFC heavyweight rankings.

When the fight began it was all Overeem. He came out right away and put a beating on Browne. Overeem was able to get Browne up against the cage and began to punish him with heavy shots. Browne was on the ground and it looked as if the fight would be stopped. There was no fighting back for Browne and Overeem was not slowing down. Knees to the body and face brought Browne withing seconds of losing the fight, but miraculously the ref let them carry on.

After several knees to the ribs that noticeably hurt Browne, he was still on his feet and fighting back. Browne was finally able to get some space and landed a few front kicks. With about one minute left in the first round, Browne landed a front kick right on the chin of Overeem and he fell straight back. Browne jumped on him and landed two more shots but the fight was over. Overeem was out and Browne pulled off a great comeback. Browne when from being on the brink of having the fight stopped, to standing with hands raised at the end of the first round.

1. Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis at UFC 118

The first UFC event in Boston was met with open arms by the fans. The crowd of over 14,000 people were ready to see some of the biggest stars in the sport put on a show. One fight that stole the show was Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis. That night kicked off the main card and prooved that Boston was a fight town after all.

The fight began with Nate Diaz doing Nate Diaz things. He was cocky and showing off in front of his opponent Davis. He kept putting his arms up and begging for Davis to come forward. When Davis finally did, he did it with power. He shocked Diaz who was in danger for a moment, but quickly brushed it off. Both men were exchanging shots and Davis opened a cut over his eye.

The cageside doctor took a look at Davis’ eye and for a brief momnt it seemed the fight could be stopped, but he let them continue. In the third round, the fight went to the ground and Diaz ended up on top. His ground game was too much for Davis. Diaz was able to grab a hold of Davis’ neck and that was it. Davis never tapped and Diaz choked him out cold. The crowd went wild and the hype that followed Nate Diaz continued to grow. The bout won the Fight of the Night honor.

UFC Boston takes place on Saturday, Oct.19, 2019, live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all your live results and highlights.