Strikeforce Fedor vs. Henderson Results: Tarec Saffiedine Dominates Scott Smith in a Unanimous Decision

I’ll be honest, I completely forgot that this fight was on the card tonight. That being said, now that I have been reminded by looking at the Strikeforce website, I am very excited for this match-up. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw a boring Scott Smith fight. A look at his record shows that win or lose, Smith has not had a fight go to decision since his bout against Patrick Cote at UFC 67 in 2007. As for Tarec Saffiedine, he is a young, up-and-comer that trains with one half of tonight’s main event, Dan Henderson.   

The fight began with an early feeling out process by both men, each trying to establish their range with the jab. Saffiedine was the first to truly strike, landing several unchecked leg kicks on Smith. He tried to work his kicks upstairs, but Smith was able to easily block the kick, before tying up Tarec against the cage. Surprisingly, Saffiedine was able to quickly reverse the position and push Smith’s back up against the cage. He was able to deliver several punches and knees to the body, before both fighter’s released and reset in the center of the cage. Smith began to try to push the pace, but was stopped by a well-timed headkick by Saffiedine that connected. Smith immediately grabbed for a single leg, but was unable to do anything with it. Tarec connected with a right hook, and tried to follow it up with another headkick but came up short. With the round coming to an end, Saffiedine threw a spinning heel kick that Smith was largely able to avoid.

In between rounds, we could see that Scott Smith’s face was marked with various little cuts, but nothing that would immediately threaten the continuation of the fight. The second round began with Saffiedine coming out and establishing control in the center of the ring. He once again found success with the leg kicks, which apparently Smith was never taught to check. Saffiedine came upstairs with a body kick, and landed it clean which pushed Smith up against the cage. Tarec then connected with a right hook that seemed to temporarily buckle Smith, but ultimately failed on knocking him down. He tried for the highlight reel KO with a flying knee, but Scott was able to block it. Saffiedine then began to work inside with several short elbows while clinched up against the cage. Tarec connected with another right hook that really wobbled Smith, but he was able to grab a hold of a leg to prevent further damage. Saffiedine freed his leg and quickly spun around to Smith’s back, where he tried to establish his hooks. Smith smartly worked his way forward, and was able to get back to his feet. Saffiedine finished this largely one sided round with another brief flurry of strikes, before Smith tied him up to end the round.

As we entered the third, it was clear that Scott Smith’s only chance of winning this fight was by finishing. This seemed unlikely as his gas tank was on empty and he was already rocked twice. Saffiedine was again the first to strike by connecting with a quick two punch combo followed by a leg kick. Smith had absolutely nothing to offer Tarec, as his punches were hitting nothing but air. At this point, Saffiedine had also begun to tired, so his barrage of punches began to taper off. That being said, he was still able to land any shot that he attempted as Smith was offering no head or body movement. Tarec landed a few more punches, which really caused the blood to start flowing from Smith’s face. With thirty seconds remaining, Smith began to go into desperation mode, wildly winging haymakers, but was unable to connect with any of them. The round came to an end with Smith trying for a headkick, but Saffiedine was able to get out of the way.

Tarec Saffiedine just made Scott Smith look like a local, amateur fighter that Strikefokrce pulled off of the streets. Smith had absolutely nothing to offer offensively, and was nothing more than a giant punching bag on the night. If there was any doubt, the judges’ scored the fight 30-26, 30-27, 30-27. It’s hard to say what this means for Saffiedine, especially if Woodley wins tonight against Paul Daley. Do we really want to see a rematch between those two? Regardless, Saffiedine definitely has a bright future, with a very impressive display of striking prowess tonight.