UFC 248: ‘The Leech’ Li Jingliang ‘won’t let’ big chance vs Neil Magny go as moment of truth beckons

Chinese welterweight Li “The Leech” Jingliang has sauntered into Las Vegas with the air of a seasoned gambler who accepts the cards as they fall. “I feel like I am home here,” laughs Li, spreading his arms out towards the distance, to the Vegas Strip and the Nevada desert skyline. Come Saturday and UFC 248 and the 31-year-old from Xinjiang faces the biggest test of a career through which he has seemed to delight in defying expectations. Former top-15 ranked American Neil Magny (21-7) stands in the Chinese fighter’s path towards the world ranking he has long desired, and a chance of then facing off against one of the best in a division full to overflowing with talent. “This is a big chance that I will just not let go,” Li said. “I think fighting Magny is really cool as he is very good so that reflects on my ability and how far I have come with the UFC. They have given me a chance to start fighting the best of the best, and that’s where I want to be.” China’s first UFC champion, Zhang “Magnum” Weili (20-1), will defend her strawweight title against former title-holder Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-3) of Poland on Saturday – the first time a Chinese fighter has topped the bill in the spiritual home of the global fight game. That fact is a bold, brash statement of how far MMA – and the UFC – have come in China so quickly, given the first Chinese fighter was only signed by the Las Vegas-based outfit a decade ago. UFC 248: Zhang Weili turns to mystical art of Muay Thai master And it is fitting that Li is there on the undercard, given his role as, first, trailblazer and, now, wise sage of the sport across China. “I love everything about fighting and about the places I started out like Legend,” said Li, of the Hong Kong-based promotion where he won his first pro title. “These were places to learn how to fight and how to be a legend yourself. That’s what I want to be in the UFC – a legend. I tell young fighters you have to go slow and steady, step by step. That’s how I got to be here today.” Though he has been in the game since turning pro in 2007, Li has virtually reinvented himself over the past four years. He’s riding a 3-0 run and is on a 7-1 tear since 2016 that has been built on an all-action attack that has consigned to slumber his reputation as a wrestler only, from the early days. The first big test of the “new-look” Leech was supposed to come last time at UFC Fight Night 157 in Shenzhen last August, on the card where Zhang turned the sport on its head by dethroning Brazil’s Jessica Andrade in 42 seconds. What we saw was a measured, confident fighter, constantly closing down space and fighting what has always seemed to be a natural inclination to go hell for leather. That trait always meant for an entertaining night for fans when Li was involved but threw up a few Ls that might never have happened given a more measured approach. “My standing and my striking has evolved and I am more confident in standing,” Li said. “I need to work on all my skills and as a fighter you never stop learning. I actually think it’s because I am more experienced that I have become more calm. “I can execute the game plan better now because of that and I think last time I showed that. I was distracted and I stuck to the plan that my team worked out and it worked.” The 32-year-old Magny comes in as a fighter with advantages over Li in both reach (8.5 inches) and height (three inches) as well as the experience of having shared time in the cage with the likes of the now No 7-ranked middleweight Kelvin Gastelum – and walked away a winner. “He is one of the best fighters in the division and the most difficult due to his reach and his height. So it will be difficult, a tough fight for me,” Li said. “If I am smart, if I am calm, I can win. I like to fight people like him because it means that I learn more.” Li was among the Chinese fighters forced to seek alternative arrangements for their fight camps following the emergence of the coronavirus in China. He ended up in Pattaya, Thailand, with strawweight Yan “Fury” Xiaonan and welterweight Song Kenan who both went on to turn in ultra-impressive victories at Fight Night 168 in Auckland two weeks ago. Duly noted, says the Leech. “You have to think as a fighter that the more you travel, the more you know,” Li said. “We got to train a little more in Muay Thai and anything extra you learn will help. I am happy to see those other Chinese fighters succeed and this has inspired me to match them. “You can look at Zhang winning the title and that shows any fighter where you can go, not only in China but around the world. She is super tough. We used to train together and I want us to win together again.”