Former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine showed off all aspects of his fight game in his UFC debut Saturday at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and when the UFC Fight Night main event was over, his five round unanimous decision win over gutsy South Korean Hyun Gyu Lim sent a message to his peers at 170 pounds that he’s ready for the best the welterweight division has to offer.
Scores were 49-46 and 48-47 twice.
Saffiedine effectively picked at Lim with his punches and kicks in the early going, mixing in plenty of movement and switching of stances to throw his opponent off. Lim did score a flash knockdown with a right hand at the midway point of the round, and as the final minute wound down, he got in more shots, prompting a smile to appear on his face.
A firefight broke out in the opening minute of round two, and Saffiedine got the better of the exchanges, knocking Lim back on his heels twice. After settling to a more measured pace, Saffiedine went back to firing off hard leg kicks while moving smoothly back upstairs with his punches, frustrating Lim, whose return swings found nothing but air as the stanza progressed.
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Lim got back on track early in the third, but a right hand by Saffiedine produced a quick knockdown, and the Belgium native scored with a takedown moments later, putting “Sponge” in control once again. After the two rose, Saffiedine unleashed more leg kicks, visibly hurting Lim and putting him on the deck. Saffiedine followed Lim to the mat but was unable to finish. Instead, he used his ground strikes to maintain control. With 30 seconds remaining, referee Leon Roberts stood the two fighters, and Lim was dropped once again with a leg kick just before the bell.
Surprisingly, Lim was able to make it out of his corner for round four, and he aggressively fired off lefts and rights in a last ditch effort to turn things around. Not surprisingly though, Saffiedine kept his cool, and with a flying knee to the head he scored another knockdown. Now showing off his ground game, Saffiedine looked for a rear naked choke and a triangle choke briefly, all the while throwing in enough strikes to keep the fatigued Lim on the defensive.
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The gutsy Lim still moved forward, throwing all the while, but with each kick to the leg, Saffiedine regained the upper hand. With two minutes left, a shot to the left leg produced yet another knockdown, and this time Saffiedine let Lim up, looking to finish matters on the feet. Lim let out a war cry when he rose, and he marched forward with his hands down, hoping to goad Saffiedine into a brawl. He nearly got his wish, and he rocked Saffiedine in the closing seconds, only to have the bell intervene and halt his comeback effort.