The UFC's first foray into Singapore and the first event on it's brand new UFC Fight Pass network provided for a great night(morning i you're in the US), as the final Strikeforce welterweight Tarec Saffeidine snagged a unanimous decision victory over Korean fan favorite and rising prospect Hyun Gyu Lim in the main event of UFC Fight Night 34 at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.
The two spent the first little bit feeling each other out, with Saffeidine frequently changing stances and angles, focusing his infamous leg kicks on Lim's left leg. Saffeidine lost his balance and quickly got up, but not without a few knees from Lim. Lim then focused on going to the body, throwing some hard driving knees and then landed a hard right hand to end the round.
Lim came out in the second round hard and applied a ton of pressure, forcing Saffeidine to work from the outside. Saffeidine quickly turned the tables, however, and hit Lim with three nasty right hands that nearly dropped the Korean. Saffeidine also continued to apply pressure with the leg kicks to Lim's lead left leg, and Lim had no answer to it.
Saffeidine dropped Lim with a mean two-punch combo to start the third. Lim got up quickly, but Saffeidine almost immediately got him to the ground after landing another hard right hand and shooting a double-leg. The two scrambled and Saffeidine hit the mat, but managed to get back to his feet. Saffeidine continued to pursue the lead leg kick, and dropped Lim twice with them. Saffeidine celebrated prematurely after the second leg kick that dropped Lim, but referee Leon Roberts did not stop the fight.
Round four was all Saffeidine, as Lim looked visibly tired and was on wobbly legs due to the continued abuse his legs were taking. Saffeidine continued to apply pressure to the lead left leg, with Lim almost crumbling after every punishing blow. Saffeidine landed a hard knee to the body that dropped Lim. Following that, Saffeidine tried a few submissions with no success.
The fifth round began much the same as the previous, with Saffedine continuing to apply pressure to the lead left leg and almost dropping Lim with them. He dropped the Korean twice in the round with leg kicks, but didn't want anything to do with fighting Lim on the ground, allowing Lim to stand up each time he dropped him. Lim landed a flurry of shots toward the end of the round, giving everything he had into the last few seconds, but couldn't get it done that late in the fight.
The judges scored the contest 49-46, 48-47, and 48-47, all for Saffeidine.
"I was pretty hurt." Saffeidine said, speaking of Lim's efforts late in the fifth. "He caught me with a good punch. I got a bit dizzy, but was able to recover. He was really tough. He got prepared for me. He's a great fighter."
Saffeidine, in the post-fight presser, also spoke a bit on who he'd like to fight next. "I want to fight the top fighters, top 10 in the UFC." Saffeidine said. "I want to fight those guys. I can't wait to get back in the gym and train for those guys."
Also on the card was a bout between fan favorite Tatsuya Kawajiri and American fighter Sean Soriano.
Soriano effectively withstood the takedown in the first until Kawajiri managed to get a trip against the cage, where the decorated Japanese submission artist went to work. Kawajiri took his back and tried a few chokes, but was unsuccessful. Following this, Kawajiri used a body triangle to set up indefensible strikes from his back.
The second was much different than the first, as Kawajiri immediately got the takedown and locked in a choke. Soriano tapped, but the ref didn't see it, and Soriano passed out. The choke came at :50 of the 2nd round.
Take a look at the rest of the UFC Fight Night 32 results here:
Main card:
Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Sean Soriano via submission (rear naked choke) at :50 of round 2
Kiichi Kunimoto def. Luiz Dutra via DQ (illegal elbows) at 2:57 of round 1
Kyung-Ho Kang def. Shunichi Shimizu via submission (head and arm triangle) at 3:53 of round 3
Undercard:
Max Holloway def. Will Chope via TKO (strikes) at 2:27 of round 2
Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Royston Wee def. Dave Galera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Dustin Kimura def. Jon Delos Reyes via submission (armbar) at 2:13 of round 1
Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa via submission (triangle choke) at 4:59 of round 2
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