Tarec Robert Saffiedine was born on 6 September 1986 and is a Belgian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
29 Facts About Tarec Saffiedine
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Tarec Saffiedine was born to a Lebanese father, who emigrated to Belgium to study as an ophthalmologist, and a Belgian mother.
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Tarec Saffiedine's father was a Taekwondo practitioner, and since the age of ten Saffiedine has trained in Judo, Wing Chun and Taekwondo.
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Tarec Saffiedine grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in Brussels and played basketball in his youth.
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Tarec Saffiedine received his nickname, "Sponge", from one of his coaches because he learns quickly.
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Tarec Saffiedine made his professional mixed martial arts debut in March 2007, beating his opponent Guillaume Janvier with a kimura submission.
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Tarec Saffiedine went on to fight a further three times that year, all in promotions in his native Belgium and France.
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Tarec Saffiedine's first fight came against Seichi Ikemoto at DREAM 10: Welterweight Grand Prix 2009 Final.
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Tarec Saffiedine replaced former WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho in the match on short notice, and lost by way of split decision.
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Tarec Saffiedine then returned to the United States to compete at Strikeforce Challengers: Kaufman vs Hashi, where he defeated James Terry by way of unanimous decision.
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Tarec Saffiedine used effective striking to keep his opponent off balance, going as far as to open a cut under Terry's left eye that was bleeding profusely by early in the third round.
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Tarec Saffiedine was next scheduled to face off against Nate Moore on 21 May 2010 at Strikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs Casey.
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The opening round provided some back-and-forth action with Moore pushing forward with a wrestling attack, then responding well when Tarec Saffiedine began to take control with his strikes.
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That changed in the second, as Moore returned to his takedown-heavy strategy, but Tarec Saffiedine stood tall in the face of the attack and delivered powerful punches while remaining on his feet.
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Tarec Saffiedine then faced grappler Brock Larson on 11 September 2010 at Shark Fights 13, on loan from Strikeforce.
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Tarec Saffiedine's next fight was against Tyron Woodley at Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs Tarec Saffiedine.
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Tarec Saffiedine was supposed to face Evangelista Santos at Strikeforce: Feijao vs Henderson but the fight was cancelled.
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Tarec Saffiedine was the replacement for Paul Daley, who was the original opponent for Saffiedine.
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Tarec Saffiedine fought Tyler Stinson to a split decision victory at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Jardine.
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Tarec Saffiedine defeated Roger Bowling via unanimous decision at Strikeforce: Rousey vs Kaufman.
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Tarec Saffiedine was expected to face former EliteXC Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler on 27 July 2013 at UFC on Fox 8.
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However, Tarec Saffiedine was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Siyar Bahadurzada.
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Tarec Saffiedine was expected to face Jake Ellenberger on 4 January 2014 at UFC Fight Night 34.
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However, Tarec Saffiedine had to pull out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury suffered in training.
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Tarec Saffiedine faced Rory MacDonald on 4 October 2014 at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs Tarec Saffiedine.
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However, it was announced on 1 January 2015 that Tarec Saffiedine had pulled out of the bout, citing a groin injury.
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Tarec Saffiedine faced Rick Story on 29 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 88.
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Tarec Saffiedine faced Rafael dos Anjos on 17 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs Correia.
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On 26 November 2019, it was reported that Tarec Saffiedine was released by UFC.