Saffiedine Cut By UFC

Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight division got a bit less crowded recently, as MMA Fighting has reported that the promotion has parted ways with Tarec Saffiedine.

Making his Octagon debut back in 2014, Tarec was coming in hot from Strikeforce as he was riding a four fight-win streak and fresh off a knockout win over Nate Marqaurdt for the promotion’s 170-pound title.

In his UFC debut, Saffiedine earned an impressive unanimous decision win over Hyun Gyu Lim. Later that year, the kickboxer took on Rory MacDonald, ultimately losing via third round knockout.

But after getting back on track with a win over Jake Ellenberger, Tarec went on to lose three in a row to Rick Story, Dong Hyun Kim and then former Lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos, way back in the middle of 2017.

Having not competed since then, Saffiedine was officially released of his UFC contract last week after collecting a record of 2-4 during his stint with the Endeavor-owned promotion.

Now, the 33-year old striker can focus on fighting elsewhere, with a likely option being Bellator MMA. Not only would it allow him the opportunity to face some new faces (and some old ones), but it would reunite him with his old boss, Scott Coker.