‘I will hold nothing back,’ says Li Jingliang as he prepares for toughest UFC challenge yet in Perth

“It has been fun so far but I came here to fight,” the 29-year-old told the Post on Friday. “Every time I step into the cage anywhere in the world I want to win and I want to show the power of Chinese fighters. I will hold nothing back.”

Li (14-4) will face rising Australian welterweight prospect Jake Matthews (11-3) as part of UFC 221 at the Perth Arena on Sunday morning. It’s a card that is mostly about possibilities as the world’s leading mixed martial arts organisation looks to further its reach around the globe.

With local UFC world middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (19-4) out through injury and illness, the headline event sees the man he was set to face – second-ranked Luke Rockhold (16-3) – facing the number one-ranked Yoel Romero(12-2). But the fact that Li has been positioned high on the main card – and against one of the UFC’s brightest Australian prospects – is another indication of how highly the Xinjiang-born fighter is rated.

And, of course, how important the Chinese market is to the UFC power brokers.

So far, Li has been paying his way, with a four-fight winning streak, back-to-back Fight of the Night bonuses – and the echoes of a stunning first-round TKO over Zak Ottow (15-5) in front of an adoring home crowd in Shanghai back in November still ringing in his ears.