The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight division has become a wild and exciting weight class since the retirement of former longtime kingpin Georges St. Pierre, with new fighters frequently presenting themselves as legitimate title contenders.
With that in mind, it's harder than ever to get a title shot in the division, and seeing that Robbie Lawler will assuredly be fighting Johny Hendricks in a rematch for the title, top contender Rory MacDonald will still need another win under his belt to bolster his campaign for the 170-pound crown.
Enter Tarec Saffiedine.
The promotion today (July 31) announced via its official twitter account that "Ares" will battle "The Sponge" at the UFC Fight Night 54 event, expected to air on Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1, on Oct. 4, 2014 inside Halifax Metro Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
MacDonald came into UFC as a hot prospect and has proven to be a very fearsome fighter after building a solid 8-2 record within the promotion, only losing in close fights against top contenders Carlos Condit and Robbie Lawler. He is coming off a very dominant win over Tyron Woodley at UFC 174.
Saffiedine, meanwhile, made his name in Strikeforce, losing only once in his eight-fight tenure with the promotion. He won the welterweight title in an impressive performance over Nate Marquardt, and made his debut in UFC with a lopsided decision win over Hyun Gyu Lim.
Unfortunately, an injury kept him from a scheduled bout opposite Jake Ellenberger, and he has been on the shelf for roughly eight months since the aforementioned win over Lim.
No other bouts have been announced for UFC Fight Night 54 at this time; however, expect more match ups to be revealed in the coming days.