Do-or-Die Alert: Tim Boetsch Draws Luke Rockhold for ‘UFC 166: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos III’


(Boetsch may have won the battle, but the piece of glass Okami left on the mat surely won the war. Photo via Tracy Lee/Yahoo) 

The UFC career of Tim Boetsch has seen some incredible highs and just-as-unforgettable lows to say the least. After kick-starting his tenure at light heavyweight with one of the most savage debuts of all time (and a personal favorite fight of mine) at UFC 81: Breaking Point, “The Barbarian” would drop two out of his next three to Matt Hamill and Jason Brilz before being ousted from the promotion. It was a decision that nearly bankrupted Capital One and resulted in the pillage-related deaths of no less than 400 people, but I digress.

Three straight stoppage wins on the local circuit would see Boetsch called back up to the big leagues to face Thiago Silva at UFC 117. Although an Inner Circle concert injury would see Silva ousted and Todd Brown brought in, the result would be a unanimous decision victory for Boetsch nonetheless. It was a redemptive feeling that wouldn’t last long, unfortunately, as Phil Davis and his freaky, deeky submission skills would force Boetsch to drop to middleweight in a last ditch effort to save his career. With the help of world-renowned trainer Matt Hume, Boetsch would go on an impressive 4-fight win streak at 185, including one of the greatest comeback victories in MMA history.

Back-to-back losses at the hands of Costa Philippou and Mark Munoz, however, have once again placed “The Barbarian” in hot water. In even worse news, the man Boetsch will have to defeat to likely stay employed will be former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, as the two have just been booked for UFC 166 on October 19th.


(Boetsch may have won the battle, but the piece of glass Okami left on the mat surely won the war. Photo via Tracy Lee/Yahoo) 

The UFC career of Tim Boetsch has seen some incredible highs and just-as-unforgettable lows to say the least. After kick-starting his tenure at light heavyweight with one of the most savage debuts of all time (and a personal favorite fight of mine) at UFC 81: Breaking Point, “The Barbarian” would drop two out of his next three to Matt Hamill and Jason Brilz before being ousted from the promotion. It was a decision that nearly bankrupted Capital One and resulted in the pillage-related deaths of no less than 400 people, but I digress.

Three straight stoppage wins on the local circuit would see Boetsch called back up to the big leagues to face Thiago Silva at UFC 117. Although an Inner Circle concert injury would see Silva ousted and Todd Brown brought in, the result would be a unanimous decision victory for Boetsch nonetheless. It was a redemptive feeling that wouldn’t last long, unfortunately, as Phil Davis and his freaky, deeky submission skills would force Boetsch to drop to middleweight in a last ditch effort to save his career. With the help of world-renowned trainer Matt Hume, Boetsch would go on an impressive 4-fight win streak at 185, including one of the greatest comeback victories in MMA history.

Back-to-back losses at the hands of Costa Philippou and Mark Munoz, however, have once again placed “The Barbarian” in hot water. In even worse news, the man Boetsch will have to defeat to likely stay employed will be former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, as the two have just been booked for UFC 166 on October 19th.

Although not necessarily a do-or-die fight for Rockhold, a loss to Boetsch would all but completely erase any future title hopes that the AKA standout may have. After ending his Strikeforce career with 9 straight victories, Rockhold was humbled via a Vitor Belfort sharknado kick in his UFC debut, which brings both fighters to their current crossroads. Will Boetsch have Rockhold doing the “No Bones” dance, or should he start preparing to call out Maiquel Falcao in the near future?

Featuring the trilogy-completing match between heavyweight champion Brown Pride and former champion Good Guy Dos Santos as well as a co-main event hot-dog eating contest between Roy Nelson and Daniel Cormier (yes, it’s official now), UFC 166 goes down on October 19th from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

–J. Jones