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| Photo by MMAJunkie.com |
Tarec Saffiedine is a very well rounded welterweight
fighting out of Team Quest and a top guy in Strikeforce. He was originally a Muay
Thai kickboxer before making his move over to MMA in 2007. He is fighting Roger
Bowling on August 18 at the Rousey vs. Kaufman card. With the Strikeforce
executives scrambling for title challengers at welterweight, a win over Roger
Bowling could certainly send Tarec right into that position.
He was very gracious in agreeing to do an interview with us
before his fight.
Championship Rounds: So your next opponent is the up and
coming Roger Bowling on August 18. Talk about that fight. How has camp been
going?
Tarec Saffiedine: It’s a big fight for me because I believe
a win should put me really close to a title fight. He is explosive but I
believe I am more technical and this should make the difference.
Camp is going well, we have eight weeks so it’s perfect to
plan the camp and I have great boxers and wrestlers that are here to help me
out along with my usual partners at Team Quest. I train with my coaches Daniel
Woirin for the Muay Thai, Ricardo Feliciano for BJJ, Bryan Harper for MMA and
Brian Richardson for conditioning. I have a great team behind me.
CR: How do you envision the fight going?
TS: He always starts strong in the first round so I have to
break his explosiveness, and then use my technique to frustrate him and win the
fight.
CR: You have been a striker for a very long time yet most of
your wins have been by submission. How long have you been training in BJJ?
TS: When I first started training, I started with taekwondo,
and then I turned to Shihaishinkai Karate which is a Karate that incorporates
Judo throws and a little bit of BJJ as well. So I basically started BJJ when I
started training my stand up, but the level in Europe at that time was far from
the level we have here in the USA. That’s what I realized when I came here [the
US] for the first time and got taken down at will. I realized what I learned in
Europe was far from enough from the level here, especially with the wrestling
part.
CR: What is it like training at such a highly touted camp
such as Team Quest?
TS: You know, since I moved to the USA to train with Team
Quest, I traveled to other camps and trained at other gyms but I don’t see
myself training somewhere else. It’s kind of my roots and we have some of the
best coaches. The wrestling base is great and having Dan Henderson as a
training partner, you can’t ask for anything better. I learn everyday from
everyone and everyone helps each other out. The team is still growing and we
have new guys coming to train with us and bring their knowledge as well so it’s
great.
CR: How different is it going from fighting professionally
in kickboxing to fighting professionally in MMA?
TS: It’s a lot different I believe. When you are an active
pro competitor in Muay Thai, you fight every two weeks, get injured and don’t
get paid as much as you do in MMA. So you have to fight more to be able to make
a living and only a few fighters are able to make names out there because it’s
a lot less streaming worldwide, that’s why everybody is going to MMA, more exposure
and quicker money making. You have unbelievable Muay Thai fighters with more
than 100 fights that have to fight for $1000 because they don’t have as much
respect as a MMA fighter. The Muay Thai life is way harder I believe than
MMA.
CR: Where did you get your nickname, "Sponge"?
TS: From my former coach in Belgium. He said that I am like
a Sponge because every time, he taught me a technique I was able to replicate
(absorb) it right away. So I stuck with it.
CR: Thank you again! We will be cheering for you during your
fight!
TS: Thank you very much
Thanks to Tarec for the interview. Go follow him on Twitter
@tarecfighter and support him in his fight on August 18!
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