Li Jingliang is here to remind MMA fans that anything can happen in the octagon — not that they need much of a reminder these days.
There’s a new UFC welterweight champion right now because no underdog can ever be written off. So Jingliang isn’t doing the same to Nate Diaz before UFC 279.
“I can’t give you a number about the chance [Diaz will win], but we all know based on the statistics and the data, Khamzat is the favorite Nate is the underdog,” Jingliang said Monday via translator on The MMA Hour. But I believe Khamzat never fought in five-round bouts.
“Another big X-factor is Nate Diaz is Nate Diaz — you don’t know what happens if the fight goes to the fifth round and the last minute and last seconds if you fight with Nate Diaz. What we really need is a miracle, is a surprise in the fight, and I believe Nate Diaz is the guy that can give you this.”
Diaz almost pulled off a miracle during the fifth round in his fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 263,, causing a moral victory for the U.K. Welterweight. Edwards won what may be the ultimate come-from-behind victory in UFC by KOing Kamaru Usman at UFC
” I told my boxing coach that Leon had a chance of knocking out Kamaru Usman. Then what will happen in the fight?” Jingliang stated. We all know Kamaru is an extremely well-rounded fighter. But, most people don’t realize how great Leon is at striking. And, as I stated, it is possible for anything to happen in boxing.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re an underdog to others. You have to trust in yourself and fight for your family, no matter who you fight against. If you are in the octagon, you are 50-50.”
That is why Jingliang does not take much into criticisms of his matchup with Tony Ferguson, former interim lightweight title challenger. This was in co-headliner UFC 279. People are puzzled by Ferguson’s record, which includes a 4-fight win streak punctuated with a devastating knockout loss. Jingliang is a lot more experienced than Ferguson. The Chinese fighter is coming off a big win over Muslim Salikhov and isn’t fighting for his job or career. Ferguson is unlikely to recover after a fifth consecutive UFC defeat.
The matchup seems to favor Jingliang. But the way he sees things, it’s a little different when the punches are flying straight at you.
“I think Tony understands what he is doing right now,” Jingliang stated. “He’s been in this business for a very long time. “I think that each fighter fights for themselves, their families and I do not think it is necessary to worry about what other people think.
“Our job is to fight, and the matchmakers job is to match fighters up who will give the fans a surprise, and your job as media is to let everybody know and watch this fight,” he said. We’re not just hyped up for the fight.
Jingliang knows exactly what it’s like to bounce back from a tough defeat. He lost to Salikhov in his biggest fight, the UFC 267. bout with Chimaev. He had to be put to bed in the first round against the Chechyan fighter but he didn’t lose faith in his ability. Salikhov, with his five victories in a row, saw this firsthand.
“I always trust myself,” Jingliang said. “I always have confidence about myself since day 1 in the UFC, before each fight. No matter win or lose, even for the Khamzat fight. I know that night, he was the better guy than me. That’s just the nature of this sport. We should learn from our failures, the losses, but we should trust … and believe and have confidence in ourselves, always.”
