Steve Bossé (born July 29, 1981) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist and

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

who competed in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. Bossé competed in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division of the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

and was also known as an infamous hockey enforcer "The Boss" in the Quebec semi-professional league

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH, ''"North American Hockey League"'') is a semi-Professional sports league organization, professional ice hockey league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Vertdu ...

Bossé was one of the most popular players amongst the Quebec fans.

Early life

Bossé played hockey as a child and his goal was to become a professional in that sport. Always a tough player, he would train in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

in order to improve his effectiveness on the ice. Bossé was a successful hockey enforcer in the Quebec semi-professional league of

(North American Hockey League) (LNAH).

Mixed martial arts career

Bossé began his training in mixed martial arts with Mark Colangelo, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder C ...

, and with Stephane Dube, a popular martial artist in Quebec. Bossé became interested in MMA in 2006 after he met his agent Stephane Patry, who gave him his first opportunity to fight. Bossé made his professional debut in the organization TKO June 1, 2007 at the Montreal Bell Centre against David Fraser.

Strike Box/Titans Fighting incident

On February 6, 2009, Bossé fought James Thompson at Strike Box/Titans Fighting's inaugural event in Quebec, Canada. The event was originally scheduled to be conducted under Strike Box's own rules where only boxing, takedowns and standing submissions were allowed, but the rules were not accepted by the province's athletic commission in time for the event. It was therefore instead conducted under MMA rules. Before the event some fighters agreed to fight under Strike Box's proposed rules as a gentleman's agreement, though the referee in charge would not have any choice but to allow ground fighting were it to happen. Thompson, who later claimed to be unaware of the agreement, proceed to take down, mount and ground and pound Bossé - as allowed under MMA rules - after Bossé went for a standing guillotine choke at the start of the fight. This caused the attending audience to boo Thompson and the referee, unaware of that the fight was technically conducted under MMA rules. Beer cans and eventually chairs were then thrown into the ring, prompting referee Yves Lavigne to stop the match declaring it a no contest.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bossé was expected to make his promotional debut against

Ryan Jimmo Ryan Jimmo (November 27, 1981 – June 26, 2016) was a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He mostly fought in Canada and competed on the eighth season of ''The Ulti ...

on April 16, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale. However, Bossé was forced to pull out of the bout citing an injury. He was replaced by Sean O'Connell. Bossé faced

Thiago Santos Thiago de Lima Santos (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Santos competed in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

on June 27, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 70. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round. Bossé faced James Te Huna on March 20, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 85 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 85'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 20, 2016, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. Background The event was the second that the promotion ...

. He won the fight via KO in the first round. Bossé next faced Sean O'Connell on June 18, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 89. Bossé was awarded a unanimous decision victory. The back and forth action earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Bossé was expected to face

Jared Cannonier Jared Christopher Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 4, 2025, he is #7 in the UFC midd ...

on July 7, 2017, at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. However, Bossé was removed from the fight just days before the event and was replaced by promotional newcomer Nick Roehrick. Bossé later announced that he would pursue a boxing career, and has not fought in mixed martial arts since.

Professional boxing career

Bossé vs. Cuellar Cabrera

Steve “The Boss” Bossé made his professional boxing debut as part of the third installment of the 2017-2018 “CHRONO AVIATION Boxing Series 2017-2018”, February 15 at the Cabaret du

Casino de Montréal The Montreal Casino ( French: ''Casino de Montréal'') located in Montreal, Quebec, is the largest casino in Canada. Situated on Notre Dame Island, in Jean-Drapeau Park, it consists of two former Expo 67 pavilion buildings. The casino is open t ...

. Bossé faced the Bolivian heavyweight Julio “Conceali” Cuellar Cabrera (12-6-0, 11 KOs), in a six-round bout. Bossé won via second-round KO.

Pascal vs. Bossé

On 9 May, it was announced that Bossé would fight

Jean Pascal Jean-Thenistor Pascal (born 28 October 1982) is a Haitian-born Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title from 2019 to 2021, and previously the WBC, IBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal light-heavyweight tit ...

on 29 June 2018. The fight was postponed to take place on 20 July. Bossé tried to apply pressure on Pascal but was dropped once in round 3. Pascal continued to land heavy shots eventually dropping and stopping Bossé in eight round. It was reported that Bossé had suffered an injury during training on his right bicep and also suffered a broken jaw during the fight.

Hockey record

''GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; ''

Hockey awards

* 2003-2004: Championship with the Dragons de Verdun * 2006-2007: Championship with the Summum-Chiefs de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) **UFC.com Awards ***2016: Ranked #4 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

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Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

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Richelieu, Quebec Richelieu () is a city in Rouville Regional County Municipality, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 5,742. Its name comes from the fact that it lies along the Richelieu River. Demographics In the ...

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Houston Alexander Houston Alexander (born March 22, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2001, he has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bell ...

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Boisbriand, Quebec Boisbriand () is an Greater Montreal, off-island suburb of Montreal, at the entrance of the Lower-Laurentides in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the North Shore (Montreal), north shore of the Rivière des Mille Îles in the Thérèse-De Blainvi ...

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Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

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Marvin Eastman Marvin Lee Eastman (born June 8, 1971) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2013, he competed in K-1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Fighting Alli ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosse, Steve Canadian male mixed martial artists 1981 births Verdun Dragons players Living people Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Canadian male boxers 21st-century Canadian sportsmen