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Drops third straight fight Saturday
Saffiedine lost to Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Kallang, Singapore.
ANALYSIS
While it was a respectable effort from Saffiedine, he struggled mightily with the brute physicality of dos Anjos. He allowed RDA to push the pace far too often. Whenever Saffiedine attempted to get in a rhythm, RDA simply grabbed back the momentum with ease. "Sponge" has been one of the more underrated fighters in the game for years, but he has now lost three straight fights and four of five. He definitely isn't finished, but it remains to be seen if the UFC wants to run him out there again.
While it was a respectable effort from Saffiedine, he struggled mightily with the brute physicality of dos Anjos. He allowed RDA to push the pace far too often. Whenever Saffiedine attempted to get in a rhythm, RDA simply grabbed back the momentum with ease. "Sponge" has been one of the more underrated fighters in the game for years, but he has now lost three straight fights and four of five. He definitely isn't finished, but it remains to be seen if the UFC wants to run him out there again.
Will face Rafael dos Anjos on June 17
Saffiedine will face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 111 on June 17, Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting reports.
ANALYSIS
Both fighters will enter this match having lost their two most recent bouts, although this will be the first time dos Anjos fights at the welterweight division, which could conceivably give Saffiedine a slight edge.
Both fighters will enter this match having lost their two most recent bouts, although this will be the first time dos Anjos fights at the welterweight division, which could conceivably give Saffiedine a slight edge.
Drops close split decision at UFC 207
Saffiedine lost to Dong Hyun Kim via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC 207 on Friday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
RotoWire scored the bout 29-28 for Saffiedine, but it was a difficult fight to get a read on. Saffiedine did more damage offensively, but he allowed Kim to push forward throughout the course of the contest. The vast majority of what Saffiedine landed were counter shots due to Kim's aggressive style. Saffiedine also did a nice job of implementing his grappling game in Round 1, although that vanished over the course of the final ten minutes. Neither man was impressive which makes it difficult to get too worked up about the decision. Sponge is a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, but he has just one win in the last three years. There's room for advancement in the back half of the top-ten of the UFC's 170-pound division, but Saffiedine hasn't been able to take advantage of the opportunity.
RotoWire scored the bout 29-28 for Saffiedine, but it was a difficult fight to get a read on. Saffiedine did more damage offensively, but he allowed Kim to push forward throughout the course of the contest. The vast majority of what Saffiedine landed were counter shots due to Kim's aggressive style. Saffiedine also did a nice job of implementing his grappling game in Round 1, although that vanished over the course of the final ten minutes. Neither man was impressive which makes it difficult to get too worked up about the decision. Sponge is a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, but he has just one win in the last three years. There's room for advancement in the back half of the top-ten of the UFC's 170-pound division, but Saffiedine hasn't been able to take advantage of the opportunity.
Gets replacement for Brown
Saffiedine will face Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 207 on Dec. 30, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
ANALYSIS
Saffiedine was originally scheduled to face Matt Brown at UFC 206, but Kelvin Gastelum's withdrawal from UFC 205 sent a ripple effect throughout the entire division. Brown was removed from that bout in order to instead fight Cerrone at UFC 206, which then pushed Saffiedine back to UFC 207. Saffiedine has lost two of his last three professional bouts, but a matchup against a fighter that is more than a year out of competition might be just what he needs.
Saffiedine was originally scheduled to face Matt Brown at UFC 206, but Kelvin Gastelum's withdrawal from UFC 205 sent a ripple effect throughout the entire division. Brown was removed from that bout in order to instead fight Cerrone at UFC 206, which then pushed Saffiedine back to UFC 207. Saffiedine has lost two of his last three professional bouts, but a matchup against a fighter that is more than a year out of competition might be just what he needs.
Tarec Saffiedine: Looks dreadful in unanimous decision loss to Rick Story
Saffiedine lost to Rick Story via unanimous decision (28-29, 28-29, 27-30) at UFC Fight Night on Sunday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Saffiedine made a push late, but his fate was sealed by then. Completely unable to stop the forward push of Story, Saffiedine never had a chance. Saffiedine has always been one of the more underrated fighters on the UFC roster, but you wouldn't know it from his effort on Sunday. It was easily Saffiedine's worst performance since his loss to Tyron Woodley in Strikeforce in January 2011. The former, and final Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, Saffiedine is now officially 2-2 fighting under the UFC banner. The UFC's 170-pound division thins out considerably once you get past the top five or six fighters, but a guy like Saffiedine can't afford to be losing to fringe top-ten fighters like Story if he wants to fancy himself a legitimate title contender.
Saffiedine made a push late, but his fate was sealed by then. Completely unable to stop the forward push of Story, Saffiedine never had a chance. Saffiedine has always been one of the more underrated fighters on the UFC roster, but you wouldn't know it from his effort on Sunday. It was easily Saffiedine's worst performance since his loss to Tyron Woodley in Strikeforce in January 2011. The former, and final Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, Saffiedine is now officially 2-2 fighting under the UFC banner. The UFC's 170-pound division thins out considerably once you get past the top five or six fighters, but a guy like Saffiedine can't afford to be losing to fringe top-ten fighters like Story if he wants to fancy himself a legitimate title contender.