Tag: Tarec Saffiedine

Rick Story Returns With Hard-Fought Win Over Tarec Saffiedine

Welterweight veterans Tarec Saffiedine and Rick Story met p on the main card of tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Saffiedine won a decision over Jake Ellenberger in his most recent fight at UFC on FOX 8 in January, his first bout since

The post Rick Story Returns With Hard-Fought Win Over Tarec Saffiedine appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Welterweight veterans Tarec Saffiedine and Rick Story met p on the main card of tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Saffiedine won a decision over Jake Ellenberger in his most recent fight at UFC on FOX 8 in January, his first bout since an October 2014 loss to former title challenger Rory MacDonald due to a bout with injuries. Longtime veteran Story had also been on the bench for an extended period of time, as he was last seen winning a split decision over Gunnar Nelson at October 2014’s UFC Fight Night 53 from Stockholm, Sweden.

Saffiedine was also nearly pulled from this bout after suffering a cut on his knee in training, but was later cleared to compete. Both fighters needed a win to keep rising in the dangerous UFC welterweight waters.

Story came out with a hard low kick early, following up with another in a first minute that was low on action. Story then landed a few hooks in close, and Saffiedine landed a kick to the body and a punch. Story went for a takedown and clinched on the fence, but Saffiedine broke to land a nice head kick. Story pushed forward with a combo and landed two more big hooks before attempting another unsuccessful takedown. Saffiedine’s cut was bleeding rather heavily as Story clinched to rip his body to wind down the first.

Story came out with his low kick and follow-up punches in the second, with Saffiedine landing a grazing head kick. A checked low kick saw Story fall to the mat but couldn’t be held down. Story landed a big hook as Saffiedine lunged for a takedown, and “The Horror” controlled “Sponge” in the clinch once again. He worked the body but ate a knee to the body. It didn’t effect Story much, however, as he kept grinding away with ripping body punches and a grueling clinch. A separation saw Saffiedine land two more glancing high kicks, and the round wound down in the clinch.

In the final round, Story came out aggressive as usual, ripping Saffiedine’s midsection with hard punches again. He continued his grinding, grueling clinch work to stop Saffiedine’s vaunted kickboxing game with takedown attempts and knees, landing a heavy hook on a break. “Sponge” did land a hard right and another head kick, yet Story walked through it to strike more. Big punches landed from both fighters as Story lunged forward to clinch again as the bell rang.

Story took home a strong unanimous decision to win his first UFC match in a year-and-a-half.

Final Result: Rick Story def. Tarec Saffiedine via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

The post Rick Story Returns With Hard-Fought Win Over Tarec Saffiedine appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC On FOX 18 Reebok Payouts: Prelim Loser Tied With Both Headliners As Biggest Earner

With UFC On FOX 18 officially in the books, it’s time to find out how much money fighters who competed on Saturday’s fight card earned via their new, mandatory Reebok sponsorship deals.

Below are the payouts that the fighters earned strictly from th…

jake-ellenberger

With UFC On FOX 18 officially in the books, it’s time to find out how much money fighters who competed on Saturday’s fight card earned via their new, mandatory Reebok sponsorship deals.

Below are the payouts that the fighters earned strictly from the UFC/Reebok outfitting deal for the fights at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey this past Saturday, January 30, 2016.

With the unique nature of the Reebok sponsorship payout system, Jake Ellenberger, who lost to Tarec Saffiedine in a preliminary bout on FOX Sports 1 prior to the main card on big FOX, earned the same amount as both headliners for the show — Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader — and more than anyone else on the main card outside of the aforementioned main eventers.

Note: These are not the usual fighter salaries we post after each event, but instead the amount of money fighters earned strictly from the new Reebok sponsorship deal.

UFC On FOX 18 Main Card (FOX):

– Anthony Johnson: $15,000 def. Ryan Bader: $15,000
– Ben Rothwell: $5,000 def. Josh Barnett: $5,000
– Jimmie Rivera: $2,500 def. Iuri Alcantara: $10,000
– Bryan Barberena: $2,500 def. Sage Northcutt: $2,500

UFC On FOX 18 Preliminary Fights (FOX Sports 1):

– Tarec Saffiedine: $5,000 def. Jake Ellenberger: $15,000
– Diego Ferreira: $2,500 def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier: $2,500
– Rafael Natal: $10,000 def. Kevin Casey: $2,500
– Wilson Reis: $5,000 def. Dustin Ortiz: $5,000
– Alexander Yakovlev: $2,500 def. George Sullivan: $2,500
– Alex Caceres: $10,000 def. Masio Fullen: $2,500

UFC On FOX 18 Preliminary Fights (UFC Fight Pass):

– Randy Brown: $2,500 def. Matt Dwyer: $2,500
– Damon Jackson: $2,500 vs. Levan Makashvili: $2,500
– Tony Martin: $2,500 def. Felipe Olivieri: $2,500

How do Reebok and the UFC decide how much fighters earn through the new Reebok sponsorship deal? How do they reach the figures that will be paid out to the fighters? Click ahead to page two for a full breakdown that explains what it takes to make a certain amount of money through this new, mandatory sponsorship deal between UFC and Reebok.

UFC On FOX 18 Preliminary Results: Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine

It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, January 30th, 2015) will come in the form of UFC on FOX 18. Headlining the card are Ryan Bader and Anthony Johnson, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.

The post UFC On FOX 18 Preliminary Results: Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine appeared first on LowKick MMA.

It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, January 30th, 2015) will come in the form of UFC on FOX 18. Headlining the card are Ryan Bader and Anthony Johnson, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine closes the preliminary card on Fox Sports 1 in a welterweight bout.

Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Diego Ferreira is next in a lightweight bout.

Kevin Casey vs. Rafael Natal is next in a middleweight bout.

Dustin Ortiz vs. Wilson Reis is next in a flyweight bout.

George Sullivan vs. Alexander Yakovlev is next in a welterweight bout.

Alex Caceres vs. Masio Fullen opens the Fox Sports 1 preliminary bouts in a bantamweight bout.

Randy Brown vs. Matt Dwyer in a welterweight bout finishes off the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card.

Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili is next in a featherweight bout.

Opening the UFC Fight Pass prelims was Tony Martin vs. Felipe Olivieri Dwyer in a lightweight bout. Martin controlled the first-round with his takedowns but ate some big leg kicks from Olivieri. Martin dominated the second with his striking. In the third-round, Martin took him down, got Olivieri’s back, and choked him with a rear-naked choke.

So join us right here at LowKickMMA for UFC on FOX 18, kicking off at 3:30 PM ET!

Here are the prelim results:

Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine

Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Diego Ferreira

Kevin Casey vs. Rafael Natal

Dustin Ortiz vs. Wilson Reis

George Sullivan vs. Alexander Yakovlev

Alex Caceres vs. Masio Fullen

Randy Brown vs. Matt Dwyer

Damon Jackson vs. Levan Makashvili

Tony Martin def. Felipe Olivieri via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 3:02

The post UFC On FOX 18 Preliminary Results: Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine appeared first on LowKick MMA.

No Holidays for the Injury Bug: Tarec Saffiedine, Costa Philippou Pull Out of Upcoming Fights


(#TheTimeIsNow…to throw this poster in the damn garbage pile.)

While we at CagePotato decided to take the day off yesterday to spend time with our children, the UFC injury plague was hard at work on January 1st, steady knockin’ fighters off of main cards. Here’s the latest casualty list…

– UFC welterweight Tarec Saffiedine has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 60 main event against Matt Brown on February 14th due to a groin injury. The UFC will have to hustle to find a decent replacement opponent for Brown, because no other fight on the lineup screams “headliner.” We’re not trying to be a dick or anything, but when your event is so weak that a Tarec Saffiedine injury destroys it, maybe you deserve whatever happens to you?

– Thanks a rib injury, middleweight vet Costa Philippou has pulled out of his UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver main card bout against Uriah Hall. The UFC is currently looking for a short-notice replacement opponent for Hall. UFC Fight Night 59 goes down Jaunary 19th in Boston, and…oh my God…this is terrible. Folks, I regret to inform you that Jose Aldo has decapitated Conor McGregor and is using his head as a football. We’ll let you know when Dennis Siver gets a new opponent. Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute reports on Jose Aldo’s impending murder trial.


(#TheTimeIsNow…to throw this poster in the damn garbage pile.)

While we at CagePotato decided to take the day off yesterday to spend time with our children, the UFC injury plague was hard at work on January 1st, steady knockin’ fighters off of main cards. Here’s the latest casualty list…

– UFC welterweight Tarec Saffiedine has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC Fight Night 60 main event against Matt Brown on February 14th due to a groin injury. The UFC will have to hustle to find a decent replacement opponent for Brown, because no other fight on the lineup screams “headliner.” We’re not trying to be a dick or anything, but when your event is so weak that a Tarec Saffiedine injury destroys it, maybe you deserve whatever happens to you?

– Thanks a rib injury, middleweight vet Costa Philippou has pulled out of his UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver main card bout against Uriah Hall. The UFC is currently looking for a short-notice replacement opponent for Hall. UFC Fight Night 59 goes down Jaunary 19th in Boston, and…oh my God…this is terrible. Folks, I regret to inform you that Jose Aldo has decapitated Conor McGregor and is using his head as a football. We’ll let you know when Dennis Siver gets a new opponent. Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute reports on Jose Aldo’s impending murder trial.

Matt Brown vs. Tarec Saffiedine Being Eyed for UFC Sweden Event in January


(Pictured left: Matt Brown’s son reacts as Tarec Saffiedine’s son kicks a corner stool in half off-camera. Photo via Getty.)

On the heels of tough losses to Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, respectively, it looks like top welterweight contenders Matt Brown and Tarec Saffiedine will meet when the UFC returns to Sweden for a TBA Fight Night event on January 24th. The bout, which has yet to be officially confirmed, was first reported by Swedish outlet Kimura.se this morning and appears to be legitimate.

Saffiedine has fought just twice since making the transition over to the UFC, picking up a unanimous decision win over Hyun Gyu Lim at Fight Night 34 before dropping the aforementioned fight to MacDonald in October. Brown, on the other hand, was riding a 7-fight win streak (6 finishes) prior to the Lawler bout at UFC on FOX 12 in July. As is the case with every Brown fight, expect fireworks for this one, Nation.

In other fight booking news…


(Pictured left: Matt Brown’s son reacts as Tarec Saffiedine’s son kicks a corner stool in half off-camera. Photo via Getty.)

On the heels of tough losses to Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, respectively, it looks like top welterweight contenders Matt Brown and Tarec Saffiedine will meet when the UFC returns to Sweden for a TBA Fight Night event on January 24th. The bout, which has yet to be officially confirmed, was first reported by Swedish outlet Kimura.se this morning and appears to be legitimate.

Saffiedine has fought just twice since making the transition over to the UFC, picking up a unanimous decision win over Hyun Gyu Lim at Fight Night 34 before dropping the aforementioned fight to MacDonald in October. Brown, on the other hand, was riding a 7-fight win streak (6 finishes) prior to the Lawler bout at UFC on FOX 12 in July. As is the case with every Brown fight, expect fireworks for this one, Nation.

In other fight booking news, featherweight scrappers Jimy Hettes and Diego Brandao have been booked to throw down at UFC 183, which also goes down in January. The former has not competed since getting absolutely dominated by Dennis Bermudez en route to a third round TKO at UFC 171 last March, whereas the latter was steamrolled by Conor McGregor hype train at Fight Night Dublin. Our prediction: Brandao via TKO (Ballpoint pen to the jugular).

–J. Jones

Save 5 Hours and Watch This Rory MacDonald vs. Tarec Saffiedine Full Fight Video Highlight

Rory MacDonald beat Tarec Saffiedine pretty handily last night at UFC Fight Night 54. He out-pointed the Belgian in the first and second rounds, then finished the fight in the third with an uppercut and some nice ground and pound. But don’t read about us telling you the results, see it above for yourself with the actual full-fight video highlights from the event.

Of course, the best part of the fight didn’t make the video: MacDonald’s RIDICULOUSLY awkward post-fight celebration. Yeah, wow.

Did anything else cool happen?

Rory MacDonald beat Tarec Saffiedine pretty handily last night at UFC Fight Night 54. He out-pointed the Belgian in the first and second rounds, then finished the fight in the third with an uppercut and some nice ground and pound. But don’t read about us telling you the results, see it above for yourself with the actual full-fight video highlights from the event.

Of course, the best part of the fight didn’t make the video: MacDonald’s RIDICULOUSLY awkward post-fight celebration. Yeah, wow.

Did anything else cool happen?

Not really. The event was long and boring. We honestly wish we had skipped it to get some cleaning and other errands done. We should have just watched this highlight instead. But just in case you’re some kind of super awesome hardcore fan who’s DYING to know what happened on the prelims, here are the complete results from UFC Fight Night 54. If you recognize more than half the names you win a prize.

Main Card

Rory MacDonald def. Tarec Saffiedine via TKO (punches), 1:28 of round 3.
Raphael Assuncao def. Bryan Caraway via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
Chad Leprise def. Yosdenis Cedeno via unanimous decision (
Elias Theodoru def. Bruno Santos via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
Nordine Taleb def. Li Jingliang via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27).
Mitch Gagnon def. Roman Salazar via submission (rear naked choke), 2:06 of round 1.

Preliminary Card

Daron Cruickshank def. Anthony Njokuani via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Jake Lindsey via submission (keylock), 3:22 of round 2.
Paul Felder def. Jason Saggo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Chris Kelades def. Patrick Holohan via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
Albert Tumenov def. Matt Dwyer via TKO (head kicks and punch), 1:03 of round 1.
Pedro Munhoz def. Jerrod Sanders via submission (guillotine), 0:39 of round 1.