Final Strikeforce welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine (15-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) finally made his UFC debut – and did so in successful fashion – at UFC Fight Night 34, outpointing Hyu Gyu Lim (12-4-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) over the course of five rounds for a clear unanimous-decision win.

Saffiedine battered his South Korean foe with leg kick after leg kick until Lim could barely support his own weight, slowing his offense for a majority of the fight.

The fight wasn’t all positive for “The Sponge,” though, and he found himself in vulnerable situation through the fight. In fact, he nearly paid for it when Lim rallied in the final moments of the bout and nearly scored a come-from-behind knockout.

To see what fans, media and fighters in the MMA community thought about Saffiedine’s win in his UFC debut, check out the Twitter reactions below.

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I’m told Hyun Gyu Lim has put on approx 30 lbs since the weigh in. — James Goyder (@JamesGoyder) January 4, 2014

Tale of the tape: Lim is a large lumbering mammal made of awe and pinata stuffing, and Saffiedine looks like Bobcat Goldthwait. — Chuck Mindenhall (@ChuckMindenhall) January 4, 2014

Almost feels like an old school David vs Goliath bout…size difference is crazy here. — Joe Ferraro (@ShowdownJoe) January 4, 2014

Lim’s not gonna have any legs left very soon, and he’s already breathing with his mouth open. — Brad Taschuk (@bradtaschuk) January 4, 2014

These 2 are Crackin! This isn’t going 5. — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

Good job @tarecfighter he is range explode counter step off. — Bobbyrazakmovies.com (@bobbyrazak) January 4, 2014

Tarec taking over. Very calm fighter. — Fight_Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) January 4, 2014

Saffiedine landed 50 of 71 strikes in the 2nd, according to @FightMetric. Brilliant accuracy. — Mike Chiappetta MMA (@MikeChiappetta) January 4, 2014

Saffiedine takes him down despite dominating the standup. Stann: “Saffiedine is such an intelligent fighter.” Hmmm. — Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) January 4, 2014

Loved that “war cry” from lim to start the fifth lol — Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) January 4, 2014

Lim’s left leg is toast. This one will be over soon. — Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) January 4, 2014

Look at the leg!!! — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

Why would he not stand up right now? — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

Every time Tarec Saffiedine lands a leg kick, Nate Marquardt is wincing at home. He feels your pain, Lim #UFC — Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) January 4, 2014

This one is over with one more leg kick — Mike Brown (@mikebrownmma) January 4, 2014

This is awful. Stop the fight. — Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) January 4, 2014

Love guys like Lim who don’t roll over. Comes out like a BEAST — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

Dude make him stand back up Saff! #UFCFightNight34 — Marcelino Evil (@KCBanditMMA) January 4, 2014

Something tells me @BenFowlkesMMA has winner for a new award right now. This is baffling to watch. — Joe Ferraro (@ShowdownJoe) January 4, 2014

Lim is showing some amazing heart — Mike Brown (@mikebrownmma) January 4, 2014

Hyun Gyu Lim will not die. Nonetheless, why is Tarec grappling? Does he have a side bet with Ricardo Feliciano to tap him out or something? — Jordan Breen (@jordanbreen) January 4, 2014

You gotta love Lims heart! — russell doane (@RussellDoane135) January 4, 2014

The moment @danawhite tweeted “this isn’t going 5” I knew it was going 5. Always happens that way. Saffiedine is rolling going into the 5th. — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 4, 2014

Makes no sense why TS doesn’t keep this standing? Fight would be over — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

OMFG!!! — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

Ever have one of those feelings? — Matt Erickson (@MMAjunkieMatt) January 4, 2014

What a way to end the fight!!! — Megan Olivi (@MeganOlivi) January 4, 2014

Saffiedine almost got caught browsing through the casual men’s coasting department at the end there. — Chuck Mindenhall (@ChuckMindenhall) January 4, 2014

OH MY GOD!!!! WE ARE ON OUR FEET AT THE UFC HQ!!!! WHAT A FIGHT!!!! #UFCFIGHTNIGHT #UFCFIGHTPASS — UFC (@ufc) January 4, 2014

Holy SHIT!!!! — Dana White (@danawhite) January 4, 2014

Wow!!! Lim vs saffiedine beautiful fight. Lim fought and almost won with one leg. — Mike Brown (@mikebrownmma) January 4, 2014

Lim is backstage and basically being carried by his cornermen. Can’t walk on his own to the medical tent. — Megan Olivi (@MeganOlivi) January 4, 2014

UFC Fight Night 34 results: Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) — MMAjunkie MMA (@MMAjunkie) January 4, 2014

Spoiler Alert :) – THANK YOU ALL! http://t.co/3HY5KpTsyP — Tarec Saffiedine (@tarecfighter) January 4, 2014

Warrior and great opponent! Thank you Lim for this oppt. pic.twitter.com/duNIM0jo3w — Tarec Saffiedine (@tarecfighter) January 4, 2014

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 34, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.