UFC: Saffiedine to hurt Lim in Fight Night 34 headline bout

Belgian bruiser Tarec Saffiedine (14-3-0) will live up to his billing as favourite this weekend by sending South Korea’s Hyun Gyu Lim (12-3-1) packing in the headline bout at UFC Fight Night 34 in Singapore.

The card has something of a promotional feel about it, with many of the bouts pitting seasoned performers against talented newcomers, but welterweight Saffiedine will be keen to make his mark when taking centre stage.

However, despite being priced as 1/2 favourite for the fight, the Finland-born star will have his work cut out against the aggressive Lim.

The fight could well be a show of strength versus skill but while Lim has displayed his brutal striking in the past, he will find opportunities harder to come by this time out.

Lim’s power is evidenced by his nine knockout wins and while Saffiedine is extremely accurate – landing 116 significant strikes against his last opponent – his solitary KO means this bout could well go the distance.

This will almost certainly play into the Belgian’s hands, with the former Strikeforce champion easily the more technical of the two.

Elsewhere on the card undefeated American Sean Soriano (8-0-0) will take on Japanese powerhouse Tatsuya Kawajiri (32-7-2).

At 35 years-of-age Kawajiri – known as Crusher by his fans – may be past his peak but odds of 4/7 suggest he has enough left in the tank to inflict a first defeat upon Soriano.

With 12 KOs from his 32 wins the favourite is likely to rely on his striking to get the win and this will make the task all the harder for the young American, who will try to take the fight to the canvas.

Boasting heavy power and a solid wrestling background the 24-year-old Miami man should not be completely discounted at 27/10 but despite the 11-year age gap between the two Kawajiri should prove a step too far for Soriano at this point in his career.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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