Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine Added to Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Card

A welterweight bout with fireworks written all over it has been added to the upcoming Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson card on July 30 in Chicago.

Former middleweight title contender turned welterweight Scott Smith will return to action to face Team Quest fighter Tarec Saffiedine on the night’s card.

Sources close to the match-up confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on Monday.

Originally, Saffiedine was rumored to meet Brazilian Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos on the July 30 card, but Strikeforce opted to match him up with British slugger Paul Daley instead.

Now Saffiedine will face another equally dangerous striker in Scott Smith, making his second appearance in the welterweight division.

Smith debuted at 170lbs last December, but fell short in his fight against Paul Daley in Strikeforce.

Despite the loss, Smith made no excuses about the weight cut having an adverse affect on his performance, he just didn’t win the fight.

“When you’re coming off a loss, everybody is easy to criticize, and I get a lot of people, especially family and friends, saying I cut too much weight and that’s the reason I got knocked out. That is a theory when you cut too much weight, you lose too much water in your brain, and your brain bounces off your skull, which that very well could be the case. I don’t like to point fingers at reasons, I think I just got caught,” Smith told MMAWeekly Radio.

“The cut was hard, but I felt great afterwards, and welterweight I think I can be real competitive there.”

He’ll get the chance to prove that in July when he faces Saffiedine in Strikeforce.

The bout between Saffiedine and Smith will be on the July 30 Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson card. No word yet if it will make the televised broadcast.

Damon Martin is the lead staff writer and radio host for MMAWeekly.com.

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