Tarec Saffiedine, a Lebanese-born Belgian, painted an exotic picture of what's possible in Mixed Martial Arts at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. His palette consisted of a rainbow of striking technques. Unfortunately for Scott Smith, he was little more than a canvas upon which Saffiedine painted a masterpiece of hurt.
Smith, a veteran reknowned for having pulled off 2 or 3 of the most dramatic come backs in MMA history, didn't have that last minute come back in him tonight. Probably because Saffiedine spent three long rounds literally beating the fight out of him.
Saffiedine did everything but finish the gutsy, durable Smith.
Saffiiedine established himself at the forefront of a wave of Karate and Tae Kwon Do practictioners who are bringing an exotic, exciting new flavor to MMA. He's a Shihaishinkai Karateka who has worked long and hard to blend Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques into his arsenal. Lyoto Machida is the archetype of this style, but others like John Makdessi and Saffiedine are following fast in his footsteps.
According to CompuStrike, Saffiedine out-struck Smith 67-14 in power strikes.