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Tarec Saffiedine

TRAINING: Pro training from 1030am to noon. Rest for couple hours then conditioning at 430pm. Evening, depending on days: pads, wrestling or grappling.

When and why did you start training for fighting? I played a lot of sports growing up and in high school. When I was 16 some friends were training in MMA, so I tried and liked it as soon as I tried. I tried to train everyday with them until I started training in Shihaishinkai Karate. I got my black belt in 2005, then I wanted to turn pro in MMA after a lot of amateur fights in Muay Thai, grappling, Shooto, karate etc...

What ranks and titles have you held? I won the Belgium amateur Shooto tournament, and I went to ADCC Europe after winning the ADCC Spain qualifications.

Do you have any heroes? I got involved in MMA also because I was reading a lot of manga (japanese comics) and one of them was called TOUGH. It told the story of a young kid who learns MMA through his father, his name was Kibo Miyazawa, and I loved the story behind it and wanted to do like him.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I stopped going to college because I was skipping too many classes to go train, so I stopped. Later I did a few classes to earn a certificate in personal training.

What was your job before you started fighting? I worked as a gardener, popcorn maker in a cinema, ticket seller in a cinema, guard security, worked in a doctor office and painter