In the main event of UFC Fight Night 34, Welterweight Tarec Saffiedine made his UFC debut against Hyun Gyu Lim. Over the five round fight, Saffiedine punished Lim with low kicks, forcing repeated falls from a limping Lim. The Korean fighter never gave up, but lost the unanimous decision in the end.
Lim looked good early in the opening round, landing shots from outside and jumping in with a couple knees to the body. Tarec kept him honest with low kicks, but ended up getting tripped up. Lim followed him to the mat but couldn’t hold him down. The size of Lim giving Saffiedine trouble. He landed a big right hand and followed it up with a knee to the body. Saffiedine finding his mark a few times toward the end of the round.
Lim tried to pressure in the second round, but his lack of defense left him wide open. Tarec took advantage of the opportunity and hit him with a right hand that had the bigger man visibly hurt. Lim backed off, but continued to eat the low kicks from Saffiedine. Lim had some success trying to rush in, but Saffiedine clearly took over in this round.
Saffiedine continued showing his striking superiority in the third round. He caught Lim off balance with a grazing blow, but Lim popped right back up. Tarec mised it up with a takedown, found himself in trouble with a leglock, and escaped. The leg kicks starting to take their toll as Lim collapses from the umpteenth blow to his left leg. Tarec followed him to the ground and took half guard. Not much action and the referee stood them up. Lim limped from the first leg kick, then fell again from the next. Tarec celebrated, but the referee didn’t call the fight and Lim made it to the bell.
Lim knew what he needed to do and came out swinging wild, but still ended up falling twice from leg kicks in the first thirty seconds. Saffiedine covered up as Lim swung for the fences. Lim can barely walk, but Saffiedine apparently doesn’t want to win by leg kicks. He jumped for a flying knee that dropped Lim. Tarec followed him to the mat. He gains mount after a failed scramble. Lim had enough left in him to survive until the bell.
In the final round, Lim came out once again looking for the knockout. Tarec was content to cover up and let Lim tire himself out. He still went for the low kicks and buckled Lim a couple times in the first two minutes. They slowed down for a minute before Saffiedine dropped him once again with a low kick. High kick from Saffiedine. Tarec weirdly on his bicycle, not engaging much over the last couple minutes of the fight. Lim finally dragged Saffiedine into the brawl he wanted and even hurt him with a wild hook. But, it wasn’t enough to get the finish he needed before the final bell rang.
Tarec Saffiedine scores the unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47 x 2) win over Hyun Gyu Lim.
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