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Jake Ellenberger and Tarec Saffiedine get a new date at UFC 172

Published Jan. 24, 2014 8:59 p.m. ET

foxsports

A welterweight matchup pitting a duo of top 10’s has been added to the developing UFC 172 lineup. Jake Ellenberger will face off with Tarec Saffiedine at the April 26 event, the promotion confirmed on Friday night.

It’s take two for the pairing, which was originally supposed to take place at the UFC event in Singapore that took place earlier this month. A hamstring injury scuttled the matchup, sidelining Ellenberger and knocking him out of the bout. Instead, Saffiedine fought Hyun Gyu Lim and defeated him in an impressive unanimous decision.

The victory, a Fight of the Night award winner, stretched Saffiedine’s win streak to five straight dating back to his days in Strikeforce, where he was that promotion’s 170-pound champion when they shuttered their doors. He is 15-3 overall.

Saffiedine is currently ranked at No. 9.

Ellenberger, ranked fifth in the latest poll, hasn’t fought since last July, when he fought to a unanimous decision loss to Rory MacDonald in a bout where he was criticized for his cautiousness. Prior to that defeat, the heavy-handed Nebraskan had won eight of his last nine. His current record stands at 29-7.

UFC 172 was recently announced and will be the promotion’s maiden voyage to Maryland. The event takes place at the Baltimore Arena and features UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones vs. challenger Glover Teixeira in the main event.

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