Rory MacDonald Vs Tarec Saffiedine Official for UFC Fight Night 54

A welterweight fight between Rory MacDonald and Tarec Saffiedine has been announced for UFC Fight Night 54 in Nova Scotia, Canada on October 4th.

MacDonald is currently the No.2 ranked contender at 170lbs after wins over Demain Maia and Tyron Woodley so far in 2014, leaving him with an 8-2 record overall in the Octagon.

The Canadian fighter faltered once before in his bid to earn a title shot, losing out to Robbie Lawler by split decision back in November, and it looks like he’ll have to bide his time again since Lawler has now booked himself a rematch with current champion Johny Hendricks which likely won’t take place until late in the year.

With that in mind a win over the No.10 ranked Saffiedine could well cement him as the man to fight the winner of that bout.

Saffiedine will be eager to play spoiler here though. MacDonald presents a big step up in competition for him though compared to his UFC debut which came against Hyun Gyu Lim back in January.

He has proven himself capable in bigger fights in the past though, defeating Nate Marquardt to become Strikeforce’s last ever welterweight champion for example.

MacDonald and Saffiedine is the only fight to be announced for UFC Fight Night 54 so far and will serve as the show’s headline attraction.

Over the years I've watched the UFC develop into the powerhouse it is today, organizations like PRIDE, Strikeforce and WEC rise and fall, and Bellator emerge as a new force on the MMA landscape. Throughout it all I've remained captivated by the sport and I'm excited to cover what comes next here on MMA Insight.