Jake Ellenberger-Tarec Saffiedine Welterweight Bout Booked for UFC 172 in Baltimore

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A welterweight clash between Jake Ellenberger and Tarec Saffiedine originally intended to go down earlier this month in Singapore is now set for this coming April in Baltimore.

UFC officials announced Friday evening that the 170-pound talents will battle at UFC 172, which takes place April 26 from Baltimore Arena. The evening’s main draw airs live on pay-per-view and is headlined by a light heavyweight title confrontation pitting Jon Jones against Glover Teixeira.

An injury forced Ellenberger to withdraw from his planned UFC Fight Night 34 collision with Saffiedine, leaving “Sponge” without a dance partner until South Korean standout Hyun Gyu Lim answered the call. The former Strikeforce champion got the best of Lim in the evening’s main event, chopping down his larger opponent with leg kicks before holding off a late charge from the game 29-year-old. The result marked the fifth straight win for Saffiedine, who has not lost in more than three years.

Ellenberger, 28, has gone 2-2 in his last four outings and most recently saw a two-fight winning streak snapped by Rory MacDonald, who outpointed “The Juggernaut” in a lackluster three-rounder this past July. Prior to that setback, the 28-year-old kicked off 2013 with a vicious knockout of former middleweight title contender Nate Marquardt at UFC 158.