JNPO: The History of UFC in Boston, part 1
The UFC returns to the City of Champions this Saturday for UFC 220, the fifth time they’ve visited Boston, MA, in eight years.
A lot has happened with those shows from James Toney making his way into the Octagon to Conor McGregor main eventing his first UFC show to the debut show on Fox Sports One. Due to Dana White’s native son status, Boston has become a place where interesting things happen when the UFC circus comes to town.
In the first part of a two part series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, yours truly and Jack Encarnacao (Boston Herald, Sherdog, The Lapsed Fan) take you on a deep dive through the following:
– The path to MMA legalization in Massachussetts and the UFC’s announcement they were coming to Boston
– A look back at UFC 118 which featured James Toney crossing over into MMA to battle Randy Couture, Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn, a mild panic attack I had at the open workouts, meeting Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez, and more.
– A look back at UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Shogun which which highlighted the launch of Fox Sports One, a show that featured Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway, and how McGregor was sowing seeds for future stardom in ways you wouldn’t expect.
Enjoy this show for free now:
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.