Luckily for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Tarec Saffiedine, the injury that forced him out of a scheduled UFC on FOX 8 fight with Robbie Lawler will not require surgery and the fighter will be able to resume training after four to six weeks of rehab.
The exact nature of Saffiedine's injury still remains a mystery, but on Saturday (June 8, 2013) the fighter shared an update on his condition via his official Facebook page, stating that surgery will not be necessary to fix whatever issues prevented him from competing on July 27, 2013.
"No surgery needed so far," Saffiedine wrote. "Just Physical Therapy and strengthen the muscles for 4 to 6 weeks then get back slowly to training."
Saffiedine (14-3), the final 170-pound champion in the history of the now-defunct Strikeforce organization, really put his name on the map with a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Nate Marquardt last January.
The 26-year-old is a welcomed addition to an already loaded welterweight roster, and the fight with Lawler was expected to be a striking war between two very talented stand-up fighters.
Unfortunately, the injury forced "Sponge" out of his Octagon debut and he was later replaced by fellow slugger Siyar Bahadurzada.
An exact target date for Saffiedine's return to the cage is unknown at this time; however, any time a fighter doesn't have to undergo surgery is significant and means he will return earlier than if he was required to go under the knife.