Boston Wins Twice at UFC Fight Night at TD Garden

UFC featherweight Charles Rosa. / Photo by Garrett Quinn

Massachusetts-based fighters put together a string of strong performances at UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz on Sunday at TD Garden. Peabody native Charles Rosa went the distance with Gloucester’s Kyle Bochniak to earn a unanimous decision win from the judges.

The fight was an early candidate for Fight of the Night honors from the UFC. Leominster’s Ron Font dominated Joey Gomez of New Hampshire over the course of two rounds, earning a TKO victory when referee Herb Dean put a stop to the fight at 4:13 in the second round.

Charles Rosa vs. Kyle Bochniak

Rosa trained for not one, not two, but three different fighters before entering the octagon on Sunday to face Bochniak, a local fighter who took the UFC featherweight bout less than a week after submitting Taylor Trahan at a CES MMA event in Rhode Island.

Rosa was initially shaky against a technically sharp Bochniak, but ultimately prevailed as the fight dragged on. Bochniak’s hard striking was no match for Rosa’s freshness and wait-them-out game plan.

In the first round, Rosa slipped twice on the octagon mat but still managed to escape after taking hard shots from Bochniak.

Rosa delivered brutal sidekicks to Bochniak’s left side in the second round, leaving him with horrible bruising. The two scraped on the ground twice but failed to make much of their clinches before returning to their feet.

The third round was where Rosa’s game plan shined and Bochniak struggled to land some kind of fight changing punch. No matter how hard Bochniak punched, Rosa managed to absorb it like it was nothing and counter.

“I was a little worried about being able to come back to Boston with my friends and family, I really wanted this fight. He’s a super tough kid and that forced me to fight a little bit smarter, but being able to fight in Boston again was a dream come true,” said Rosa after the fight.

The judges scored the fight 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.

Joey Gomez vs. Rob Font

Gomez never had a chance against Font’s left hand.

Font dominated the fight from beginning to end by rarely giving Gomez the opportunity to work inside on him in the octagon. Font’s control of spacing with a mixture of low kicks and well-timed takedowns frustrated any kind of offense Gomez could generate. Gomez was reduced to fighting off Font’s takedowns with a barrage of less than ideally placed hammer fists.

“He judges distance very well and he did a great job with the in-and-out game, he was constantly moving, constantly in and out. I was so concerned with getting counter-punched that I couldn’t get any of my combinations going. I tried changing levels, but I just couldn’t land the punches,” said Gomez after the fight.

In the second round, Font smelled blood, but moved slowly before landing a devastating left hook that dazed Gomez but did not take him out of the fight. Font unloaded on him with a series of devastating overhand rights and an uppercut that knocked his mouthguard out, prompting Herb Dean to stop the fight at 4:13 in the second round.

“I’m living in the moment right now, once I got comfortable out there and started using my footwork, I was having a lot of fun,” said Font after the fight.