Safin, who is of Tatar descent,[2] took up fencing when he was nine years old after a coach came to make a presentation at his school.

He won the Challenge Revenu after defeating in the final team Olympic champion Andrea Baldini.

[4] At the 2014 European Championships in Strasbourg, he was defeated in the table of 16 by eventual gold winner James-Andrew Davis, and in the team event he helped Russia conquer a bronze medal.

In the 2014 World Championships in Kazan he made his way to the semifinals, defeating along the way German champion Peter Joppich.

He lost by a single hit to world no.1 Ma Jianfei of China and came away with a bronze medal.