Siyar Bahadurzada Replaces Tarec Saffiedine, Faces Robbie Lawler at UFC on Fox 8

UFC officials announced the change Tuesday afternoon, though the nature of Saffiedine’s injury was not disclosed. UFC on Fox 8 takes place July 27 at KeyArena in Seattle and is headlined by a flyweight title showdown pitting champion Demetrious Johnson against challenger John Moraga.

Bahadurzada, 29, saw a seven-fight winning streak snapped in his most recent outing, when he was out-grappled by the larger Dong Hyun Kim on March 3. Bahadurzada made his Octagon just over one year ago at UFC on Fuel TV 2, knocking out Brazilian talent Paulo Thiago with a vicious right hand in just 42 seconds. Known for his finishing ability, “The Great” owns 11 of his 21 career victories by knockout and an additional six via submission.

Lawler is another welterweight who possesses superior punching power, as exhibited in his UFC return on Feb. 23 against Josh Koscheck. The victory marked the 31-year-old’s first fight at 170 pounds since 2004 and resulted in his first UFC victory in more than nine years. “Ruthless” owns notable victories over Frank Trigg, Melvin Manhoef and Matt Lindland and previously held both the EliteXC and Icon Sport middleweight titles.