UFC: Singapore (or UFC Fight Night 34) is in the books and it certainly delivered considering the number of new faces that were featured on the fight card.

The event was carried on the “UFC Fight Pass”, a recently launched online medium catered to fight fans worldwide.

UFC Fight Night 34 Aftermath

The featured bout of the main card showcased an absolute belter between top Welterweight contenders Tarec Saffiedine and Hyun Gyu Lim. While Saffiedine exhibited his trademark leg kicks for twenty-five minutes, the heart of Lim was admirable as well, as the South Korean continued to fight despite being downed multiple times during the contest.

Both fighters staged a five-round striking extravaganza and there were moments where you could feel somebody was going to get knocked out. It was Saffiedine though, who came closest to finishing the fight. In the fourth round, with Lim looking tired and fatigued, Saffiedine landed a beautiful knee that sent his South Korean counterpart crashing to the canvas. But Saffiedine, perhaps staying on the cautious side, decided to lie in top control until the end of the round, instead of pouncing for a finish.

Lim, however, at that point, wasn’t done by a long shot. In the final frame, with just seconds to go, the South Korean piled the pressure on Saffiedine forcing the Belgian to back up, but with time against him, he wasn’t able to apply any real damage.

It was a brilliant main event to kick start the promotion’s first event of 2014.

The co-main event, in the meantime, featured the highly anticipated debut of Tatsuya Kawajiri. The Japanese MMA icon had multiple takedown attempts spurned in the opening stages by his opponent Sean Soriano, but he managed to hit the ground running as the bout progressed. The Japanese vet could have submitted his American opponent in the first round too, if not for Soriano’s tough resolve and heart. It was all too simple for Kawajiri in the second frame, however, as a quick takedown, followed by a Rear-Naked Choke submission attempt was all she wrote for Sean Soriano.

Other notable bouts:

Max Holloway snapped his two-fight losing skid against promotional newcomer Will Chope. Holloway didn’t find it easy though in the opening stages of the first round, as he had to figure out the lengthy Chope’s range and timing. The American, meanwhile, was undeniably the slower of the two, and barely survived the end of round one when Holloway swarmed on him with punches near the cage. The Hawaiian picked up where he left off in round two, continuing to pressure Chope with kicks and punches. And the stoppage eventually came midway through the round, where a barrage of strikes forced Chope to cover up on the canvas, promptly meriting an intervention from the official.

The match-up between Russell Doane and Leandro Issa provided some sparks too. Issa came in as the favorite because of his world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, but Russell Doane was having none of it. The Hawaiian was, however, caught in a tight Triangle choke in round one, and was trapped in that predicament for some time. Fortunately for him though, he fought out of it. Doane transitioned beautifully for a Triangle choke of his own in the second stanza, and was able to get the tap from his Brazilian foe.

Kyung Ho Kang vs. Shunichi Shimizu was a battle of two submission aces, but only one managed to get a successful tap-out. It was clear where Shimizu wanted the bout to take place from the get-go, as he tried multiple times to take the fight to the canvas. But Kang, for the majority of the contest, seemed content with striking and actually found some success with it. The South Korean, though, was deducted a point early on for landing an illegal elbow during the midst of a Triangle choke attempt. He knew heading into the third round that he needed to finish the fight or the point deduction might come back to haunt him. And Kang duly delivered with an Arm-Triangle choke victory.

MMASucka.com’s Top Three Fighters of the Night: