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UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine
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Published: 10/4/2014  at  3:43:00 AM
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UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine

Saturday, Oct. 4 – 11:30 p.m. ET
Halifax, Canada

Rory MacDonald (17-2) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (15-3)

5-Round welterweight title bout
Line: MacDonald -500, Saffiedine +425

Rory MacDonald could be in line for the next welterweight championship opportunity, but first, he needs to take care of business against Tarec Saffiedine on Saturday night.

MacDonald has long been thought of as a guy that could contend for a championship in this sport. Since losing to Robbie Lawler last November, he has bounced back with two consecutive victories against Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley. Both of these fights were decided by unanimous decision, and in his last fight against Woodley on June 14, he dominated the entire way, as evidenced by a 49-26 striking advantage. For MacDonald, his versatility in the sport is as good as there is. He has the power to win by knockout, the quickness to win by submission, and the cardio to win by decision. That loss to Lawler was by split decision, and Lawler will now be fighting for the belt on Dec. 6. MacDonald is extremely close to getting that chance, but he needs to remain focused on the task at hand. Saffiedine enters this match on a five-fight winning streak, with all of them coming by way of decision. In his last match against Hyun Gyu Lim on Jan. 4, he won in a five-round unanimous decision. His cardio is as good as there is, but he is going up against a different animal in MacDonald, who is very close to achieving his goal. A dominating MacDONALD victory on Saturday night could be what he needs to get that title shot.

"Ares" MacDonald has 17 victories in his career, with six coming by both knockout and submission. Seven of these 12 finishes have occurred in the first round. He also has five wins by way of decision. This versatility makes him nearly impossible to game-plan for, because he can win any style of fight. His biggest advantage will be his grappling, as his 2.49 takedown average is much higher than Saffiedine’s 0.46 takedown average. He is also much more accurate when attempting to get his opponent to the mat, landing 58 percent of his takedowns, compared to 38 percent for Saffiedine. For MacDonald, he has to come out early and throw different things at Saffiedine. If he does not attack and lets the fight drag out, then there is a greater chance for an upset. However, if MacDonald does what he is supposed to do, then he should be in great shape.

"Sponge" Saffiedine has 15 victories in his career, with nine of them coming by way of decision. He also has five wins by submission and one win by knockout, and five of those six finishes have come in Round 1. The 28-year-old has also prevailed in eight of his past nine fights. Saffiedine will have the advantage when it comes to landing significant strikes (4.35, compared to 3.92 for MacDonald), but those punches are meant more to wear his opponent out, rather than knock him out. For him to have a chance in this matchup, he has to prolong the fight as much as possible. If Saffiedine can get it to the championship rounds, he could have a chance. However, if it turns into a brawl, Saffiedine could be in big trouble early.


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