Tarec Saffiedine wants to return soon, face top-five welterweight
Tarec Saffiedine has become a forgotten man near the top of a loaded UFC welterweight division. He wants to change that as soon as possible.
Saffiedine wants an opponent in the top five and wants to return to the Octagon soon, his manager Bobby Cavian told UFC Tonight's Ariel Helwani. The Belgian striker was knocked out of a bout with Jake Ellenberger at UFC 172 due to an "upper-body" injury he got in March, Cavian said.
Ellenberger was moved to UFC 173 on Saturday, where he'll face Robbie Lawler. Saffiedine is ranked No. 10 on the UFC's official contender list. Ellenberger and Lawler are fifth and first, respectively.
Could Saffiedine, 27, meet the winner of that fight? It's possible, since there is a glut right now at the top of the division. Champion Johny Hendricks, who beat Lawler in March, is out until the fall after bicep surgery. No. 2 Rory MacDonald and No. 3 Tyron Woodley fight each other at UFC 174 on June 14 in Vancouver in what many expect to be a title eliminator.
Helwani is also reporting that a matchup between No. 7 Hector Lombard and No. 9 Dong Hyun Kim is being targeted for Macao in August. With No. 4 Carlos Condit out with a torn ACL, does that leave Saffiedine to fight No. 6 Matt Brown, who is coming off a huge TKO of Erick Silva earlier this month?
Saffiedine (15-3) has won five straight, including a dominant victory over Hyun Gyu Lim in January in Singapore. He was the final Strikeforce welterweight champion after defeating Nate Marquardt in January 2013.
