UFC 207, which is scheduled for December 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is starting to take shape.
Just days removed from the announcement that Ronda Rousey will be returning to action against bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes in the main event, the card has grown with the addition of an awesome, welterweight showdown. That showdown will pit surgical Belgian striker Tarec “Sponge” Saffiedine (16-5) with gritty American brawler Matt “The Immortal” Brown (20-15)
This fight was confirmed by our own Chris Taylor on Monday afternoon.
Matt Brown vs Tarec Saffiedine #UFC207
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) October 17, 2016
Saffiedine, who is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion, is 2-2 across his first four bouts with the UFC. He began his Octagon run with an entertaining decision defeat of South Korea’s Hyun Gyu Lim. In his next bout thereafter, he came up short against Rory MacDonald, succumbing to a third-round TKO. After this loss to MacDonald, he rebounded with a decision defeat of Jake Ellenberger, only to lose his most recent bout to Rick Story.
Brown, meanwhile, will enter the bout with a tough 1-4 record in his last 5 fights. Over the course of this rough patch, he split losses to Robbie Lawler, Johny Hendricks, Demian Maia and Jake Ellenberger with a dominant win over Tim Means. Prior to this stretch, however, he was considered one of the welterweight division’s most elite players. He’ll look to regain that reputation starting with a win over Tarec Saffiedine this December 30 in Las Vegas.
In addition to this fantastic welterweight pairing, and its Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes main event, a few other compelling contests have been confirmed for UFC 207. Dominican-Canadian prospect Alex Garcia will be taking on Mike Pyle at the event, while former heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum are also expected to rematch on the card.
It’s also been speculated that UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will defend his title against undefeated challenger Cody Garbrandt on the card, though this fight has not yet been made official.
Who do you think wins this newly announced welterweight war? Sound off in the comments, Penn nation!