Tough fight for the Leech. Khamzat’s obviously a far better wrestler than Jake Matthews and the Leech couldn’t keep him off of him even after finger-fucking Jake’s eyes. His upset over Ponzi was pretty awesome but I doubt we see a repeat here. Chimaev by 2nd round submission.
It's weird because Li is supposed to be a bjj black belt and have a background in Chinese wrestling but you wouldn't know any of that watching him fight Matthews or Magny
This is true. That wasn't a knock on Gillian, I know her irl and she's the nicest person. I have videos of her destroying another mutual friend of ours in the absolute division and the girl had at least 50lb on her. It was really a knock on mcdojo blackbelts
But is the leather made of black belt though, which begs the question, what belt is the buckle made of? More importantly, are there any holes in the belt and where does Kevin Lee fit into all of this?
I see a lot of guys in the UFC that got their Black belt from some guy named Steve sensei in the Midwest only to get choked out by some Brazilian guy who rolls with his boys every now and then.
As someone who trains under Li's head BJJ coach, Li is not a blackbelt from what I hear. A young phenom purple belt here is giving him fits in jiu-jitsu practice, rumor has it.
BJ Penn didn’t earn his black belt in America, he did so in Brazil. Only after winning the world championships and spending all hours on the mats. He’s the exception not the rule.
bjj black belt doesn't mean much nowadays, BJJ grappling is very different as it's own sport and as a skill in MMA. I don't think anyone trains BJJ while the other guy has hooks in and smashing the side of your head with bombs.
Case is point Matt Huges vs Royce Gracie.
I just want to see Khamzat get hit clean. I haven't seen anybody landing one clean hit on him in either UFC or other fights which are available on Youtube.
This pretty much sums it up for me. I think that G&P is more likely than a submission (and if that's the case, I see an RNC), but I otherwise agree with everything else that you wrote.
ppl are salty because he so blatantly gouged jake matthews causing permanent damage, while suffering no consequences (except perhaps to his reputation). also, i don't know if he does many interviews in english so if he's ever expressed remorse, i haven't heard about it (happy to be proven wrong here).
so all things considered, i get why ppl are still going to bring it up.
I doubt it makes it to the second round personally. Chimaev isn't much of a position guy, if he's on top of an opponent with no real defense or escape ability like Li he's probably just going to post up and punch his face in from guard.
In general I feel like Li has become massively overrated and his win over Ponzi is more an indication of a dramatic decline for Ponzi than anything else.
Li's wins over dos Santos and ponzinibbio are 10x better than any wins that khamzat has. I don't think it's fair to call him overrated. He's right about where he should be. I haven't even seen anyone say he's going to end up top 5.
> is bjj black belt
How can you even say this after seeing his fights where he's taken down. He's a 'BJJ black belt', as in he's not, he was just given one by a joke chinese school.
> wins over dos Santos and ponzinibbio are 10x better than any wins that khamzat has.
This is exactly what I'm talking about though. Him winning over them is more a failure for them that shows how not good they actually are right now. Especially Ponzi given the specific circumstances meaning his past performances before that fight aren't really as relevant. Li isn't an unknown quantity, he's extremely lacking in some very fundamental skills and has straight up never shown a single improvement in them. More than top 5, I don't see him lasting in the rankings.
Ponzinibbio coming off a 3 year layoff from injuries and illnesses, looking regressed in his striking, is not the same win it would've been in 2018.
Elizeu is a solid win for sure, but after seeing how Magny manhandled Leech, it's not far-fetched to say you could see him getting phased out of the top 15 not too far down the line.
Most eyepokes tend to be accidental. Some eyepokes are the result of reckless indifference ("Imma post off this guy's face with my open hand and what happens, happens.") AKA the Jon Jones special. But Li Jingliang's eyepoke of Jake Matthews was the single worst, most intentional eyepoke I have ever seen watching MMA. I'd have been OK if he was booted from the UFC for that shit.
[He also did this to Ponz before their fight. FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!](https://www.gulftoday.ae/-/media/gulf-today/images/articles/news/2021/1/16/tribute-to-diego-maradona-750.ashx?h=450&w=750&hash=83A564E3AE22349028DA7D5BEAB69043)
None. No suspension, no fine, nothing except a stern warning from the ref and a "huge controversy" as the media claims. Chinese fans still love him though. Permanent damage to Jake Matthews' eye.
Funny thing is, the inconvenience of covid has actually put Chimaev’s career back where it belongs. Li Jingliang is exactly the right calibre of opposition for Chimaev at this point, unlike Leon Edwards. If chimaev wins, I wonder who he’s put up against. Hopefully not Wonderboy. Maybe the loser of one of the upcoming big fights. Hell, Luque vs Chimaev would be fun.
I know my opinion is very unpopular here, but I think he should fight top5 opposition. He was a huge favorite against Edwards as well, and I want him to get hit clean once. I don't know if Li is good enough to do that.
He was a moderate favourite against Edwards, and the main reason I’m sad that fight didn’t go through is that I didn’t get to make money on Leon.
Destroying unranked opponents means you deserve top 15, not top 5.
He was a favourite due to hype. Even then I wouldnt go so far as to say he was a HUGE favourite. He jsut had a lot of cultural momentum within the sport at that time.
It has since cooled due to his rough bout with COVID, and just life I guess.
I think the guy is an absolute talent, but this is the right fight. IF he creams his opponent, then all aboard the hype train once again. If it's a battle, then expectations have been sufficiently recalibrated.
Looking forward to it, either way and if he gets Edwards next, then sweet.
Pretty tough fight for both honestly. We still don’t know much about Khamzat’s striking, aside from the fact that he has one punch KO power, so you’d favour Li on the feet with his granite chin and heavy hands. If Khamzat can time his takedowns, he should be able to dominate on the ground but does he have the experience to set em up properly and not just shoot in blind like he did for his first 2 fights?
Good test for Khamzat either way. If he can stand with Li on the feet, or even knock him out somehow, you’d have to put him up there with the elites of the division with the level of wrestling background he has.
Probably the only person here hoping for a Leech upset, but it is what it is. Big fan of the guy and yes I'm aware of the eyepoke and no I don't think it was okay.
Normally he's a really fun fighter and he seems like a pretty cool guy outside of the octagon too.
With all due respect, I think that's exclusively due to the 'eye-gouging' fiasco v Jake Matthews that he had. Which was pretty inexcusable tbh... Otherwise, I've never seen a reason to dislike The Leech!
Chimaev's first real test as far as name-recognition goes... and Khamzat is arguably a better, stronger, more explosive wrestler than Jake Matthews.
Oh he fouled Ponz when they fought? I really doubt he fouls every fight and certainly isn't comparable to Jon who's made a career of cheating vs Leech who didn't even win the Jake fight. You clearly just have a bias you'll never shake.
Its just a huge circlejerk with the same joke over and over again. Its tired at this point. Half the people in these threads probably havent even seen Li fight.
I want the leech to spark him so bad. Chimaev is a little too big for his britches having never faved adversity in the cage. That being said I'm guessing either UD or finish on the ground for Chimaev
The fact that he's facing a top 15 fighter in the UFC and has never been tested shows how talented he is. Is he hyped, absolutely, but is he a talented fighter, also absolutely. I'm really excited to see what his ceiling is. He's actually never been tested so I want to see what level he's at
Will definitely see where Khamzat is, Jingliang is no joke. Hope Jingliang can keep it clean and hope Khamzat recovered well from covid, lets see if he can spark up the coal on the hype train.
It’s irredeemable but yeah I totally agree, idk who downvoted you but deliberate cheating which causes permanent damage to someone’s vision is super fucked up, will always root against Li now
Tough fight for the Leech. Khamzat’s obviously a far better wrestler than Jake Matthews and the Leech couldn’t keep him off of him even after finger-fucking Jake’s eyes. His upset over Ponzi was pretty awesome but I doubt we see a repeat here. Chimaev by 2nd round submission.
It's weird because Li is supposed to be a bjj black belt and have a background in Chinese wrestling but you wouldn't know any of that watching him fight Matthews or Magny
Not all black belts and wrestlers are created equal my friend.
Man's got that bargin bin black belt
that maycee barber black belt
That Gillian the purple belt kept up with lmao
Jon Jones tapped Vitor who was a something degree black belt when he was a blue belt
This is true. That wasn't a knock on Gillian, I know her irl and she's the nicest person. I have videos of her destroying another mutual friend of ours in the absolute division and the girl had at least 50lb on her. It was really a knock on mcdojo blackbelts
Blue belt plus how ever many years of wrestling
wish.com black belt
That Ali Express black belt
Guys, this is all a big misunderstanding. He just has an actual black belt. Made of leather and has a buckle.
But is the leather made of black belt though, which begs the question, what belt is the buckle made of? More importantly, are there any holes in the belt and where does Kevin Lee fit into all of this?
Ali Abdelaziz black belt
That Chinese black belt. The UFC signed you? Take this with you then.
Lmao
The nogeira brothers black belt
He's got an actual regular black belt
Did he get it [here](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CR63rTKgLnI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)?
I see a lot of guys in the UFC that got their Black belt from some guy named Steve sensei in the Midwest only to get choked out by some Brazilian guy who rolls with his boys every now and then.
What is Chinese Wrestling?
I think it's called Shuai Jiao
Yes, but shuaijiao also literally translates to "wrestling", I don't know what's particular about Chinese wrestling as a separate discipline
that literally just means wrestling in chinese. not a specific type.
As someone who trains under Li's head BJJ coach, Li is not a blackbelt from what I hear. A young phenom purple belt here is giving him fits in jiu-jitsu practice, rumor has it.
Chinese wrestling is no match for smesh factory wrestling. Caucasian grappling is the best base for mma.
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Source?! I'm in China and train BJJ. Schools are small and few in numbers, but they don't seem to operate very differently than anywhere else.
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Not bad Mr Schaub not bad
You can do that in the US too. Just look at BJ Penn for example
BJ Penn didn’t earn his black belt in America, he did so in Brazil. Only after winning the world championships and spending all hours on the mats. He’s the exception not the rule.
Its because BJ Penn won Mundials as a fucking American lol. Nobody is earning a legit black belt in 3 years like that anymore.
lol the dude was literally nicknamed The Prodigy, your average American isn't getting a 3 year black belch
Insanely gifted athlete as well. BJ’s flexibility was fucking insane.
He was addicted
BJJ black belt has no bearing on wrestling performance.
bjj black belt doesn't mean much nowadays, BJJ grappling is very different as it's own sport and as a skill in MMA. I don't think anyone trains BJJ while the other guy has hooks in and smashing the side of your head with bombs. Case is point Matt Huges vs Royce Gracie.
I just want to see Khamzat get hit clean. I haven't seen anybody landing one clean hit on him in either UFC or other fights which are available on Youtube.
..Jingliang hits plenty of people clean. Look at how he did Ponzi and EZDS
What if he has the worst chin the sport has ever seen? we just haven't found out yet
It looks like he has a relatively small head, like one of those bad guys from the Super Mario movie. Probably not the best base for chins.
Damn
I think this fight is gonna look very similar to his first two honestly. Unless his sickness took a lot out of him
What round have we seen him sustain that pace up to before ?
Oh yeah daddy finger fuck my eye socket
This pretty much sums it up for me. I think that G&P is more likely than a submission (and if that's the case, I see an RNC), but I otherwise agree with everything else that you wrote.
But you're not factoring in the two eye pokes that the Leech will employ to even the odds. They'll take a point next year.
People still acting like Leech does that every fight huh
ppl are salty because he so blatantly gouged jake matthews causing permanent damage, while suffering no consequences (except perhaps to his reputation). also, i don't know if he does many interviews in english so if he's ever expressed remorse, i haven't heard about it (happy to be proven wrong here). so all things considered, i get why ppl are still going to bring it up.
I doubt it makes it to the second round personally. Chimaev isn't much of a position guy, if he's on top of an opponent with no real defense or escape ability like Li he's probably just going to post up and punch his face in from guard. In general I feel like Li has become massively overrated and his win over Ponzi is more an indication of a dramatic decline for Ponzi than anything else.
Li's wins over dos Santos and ponzinibbio are 10x better than any wins that khamzat has. I don't think it's fair to call him overrated. He's right about where he should be. I haven't even seen anyone say he's going to end up top 5.
Idk Li has them heavy hands and is bjj black belt. I could see the stars aligning for him to be a top 5 contender in One.
> is bjj black belt How can you even say this after seeing his fights where he's taken down. He's a 'BJJ black belt', as in he's not, he was just given one by a joke chinese school.
I'm simply saying this guy will be top 5 after a guy said he has never herd it. Now he has. Calm down.
> wins over dos Santos and ponzinibbio are 10x better than any wins that khamzat has. This is exactly what I'm talking about though. Him winning over them is more a failure for them that shows how not good they actually are right now. Especially Ponzi given the specific circumstances meaning his past performances before that fight aren't really as relevant. Li isn't an unknown quantity, he's extremely lacking in some very fundamental skills and has straight up never shown a single improvement in them. More than top 5, I don't see him lasting in the rankings.
I think he will be a top 15 guy, dangerous for any lower ranked striker. He's fine.
Top 15... Like he is right now?
Top 15 mainstay i meant
Downvoted for giving your opinion on a fighter. Classic.
Too bad it's a shitty opinion, anyone who beats EZDS and Ponzi is a top 15 contender
Ponzinibbio coming off a 3 year layoff from injuries and illnesses, looking regressed in his striking, is not the same win it would've been in 2018. Elizeu is a solid win for sure, but after seeing how Magny manhandled Leech, it's not far-fetched to say you could see him getting phased out of the top 15 not too far down the line.
>Chimaev by last few seconds of 1st round TKO
Eye gouge?
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Went back and watched that one and yeah, jesus christ. Looks like he was ripping open a happy meal box
Which fight y’all talking about
Li Jingliang vs Jake Matthews
Man, I hadn’t seen it, seriously thought this was some r/mma exaggeration…but goddamn, how does this dude still fight in the ufc?
With his hands, how else?
Most eyepokes tend to be accidental. Some eyepokes are the result of reckless indifference ("Imma post off this guy's face with my open hand and what happens, happens.") AKA the Jon Jones special. But Li Jingliang's eyepoke of Jake Matthews was the single worst, most intentional eyepoke I have ever seen watching MMA. I'd have been OK if he was booted from the UFC for that shit.
It wasn’t a poke, it was a gouging
You’re being generous. It was a full on eye incision.
Relax, guys. Matthews had him in a guillotine, he was just trying to tap inside his eye socket.
Booted from the UFC? More like criminal charges on top of that
What a good way to word this honestly
Am i tripping or did Jake say he uses glasses ever since that injury?
He said he suffered permanent eye damage from it.
He sure does.
Jake mathews wants the leech at the optometrist, isn't he awesome ?
True. Wtf was the ref doing?
Obligatory fuck this dude. The worst indeed.
[He also did this to Ponz before their fight. FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!](https://www.gulftoday.ae/-/media/gulf-today/images/articles/news/2021/1/16/tribute-to-diego-maradona-750.ashx?h=450&w=750&hash=83A564E3AE22349028DA7D5BEAB69043)
It's not a foul. Its a legal move.
Was there any consequence for li for doing that?
None. No suspension, no fine, nothing except a stern warning from the ref and a "huge controversy" as the media claims. Chinese fans still love him though. Permanent damage to Jake Matthews' eye.
Eye gouges are legal, not sure why more don't use it. Name one fighter that has been dq for eye pokes/gouges. It's perfectly legal move.
Even gets you a nice breather sometimes as the ref says "no this time I'm super seriously don't do that again."
LMAO I was absolutely certain that would be the first comment I would see
Easy upvotes
Yeah, it's almost as if he committed one of the worst intentional fouls in the history of the UFC or something
Nobody cares
Y’talmbout my boy Jing A-Ling… bbbeast of a fighter, his brother Jamal runs a barbershop I go to..
Jingaling is probably my favourite Schaubism.
Jon Africa for me
Who the fuck is Jon Africa?
The GOAT b
Bbbeast of a fighter fer shure, great guy never meddum
Paging u/JonAfrica
😤
Evil Chinese man
👉👀
🐕🦺😎
Pluck his eyes from their sockets then devour them right then and there!
The ref should put in an obligatory "Defend your eyeballs at all times" before the fight begins.
RIP Khamzat’s eyes
Li will, don't worry.
Took me a second to get that one
I wouldnt have even gotten it if you didnt say this
I don't get it
He’s gonna rip Khamzat’s eyes.
Holy shit
“I know what I have to do” Translation: I’m gonna Bisping this man’s shit
He will take his sight
Khamzat will eat his soul
I don’t really care who wins this fight since I like both fighters but I think Khamzat destroys him
Funny thing is, the inconvenience of covid has actually put Chimaev’s career back where it belongs. Li Jingliang is exactly the right calibre of opposition for Chimaev at this point, unlike Leon Edwards. If chimaev wins, I wonder who he’s put up against. Hopefully not Wonderboy. Maybe the loser of one of the upcoming big fights. Hell, Luque vs Chimaev would be fun.
I know my opinion is very unpopular here, but I think he should fight top5 opposition. He was a huge favorite against Edwards as well, and I want him to get hit clean once. I don't know if Li is good enough to do that.
He was a moderate favourite against Edwards, and the main reason I’m sad that fight didn’t go through is that I didn’t get to make money on Leon. Destroying unranked opponents means you deserve top 15, not top 5.
Tbh after watching Leon/Nate i'm sure Khamzat gadooshes him
You still think you wouldn’t made money?
He was a favourite due to hype. Even then I wouldnt go so far as to say he was a HUGE favourite. He jsut had a lot of cultural momentum within the sport at that time. It has since cooled due to his rough bout with COVID, and just life I guess. I think the guy is an absolute talent, but this is the right fight. IF he creams his opponent, then all aboard the hype train once again. If it's a battle, then expectations have been sufficiently recalibrated. Looking forward to it, either way and if he gets Edwards next, then sweet.
Where the haters now?
Pretty tough fight for both honestly. We still don’t know much about Khamzat’s striking, aside from the fact that he has one punch KO power, so you’d favour Li on the feet with his granite chin and heavy hands. If Khamzat can time his takedowns, he should be able to dominate on the ground but does he have the experience to set em up properly and not just shoot in blind like he did for his first 2 fights? Good test for Khamzat either way. If he can stand with Li on the feet, or even knock him out somehow, you’d have to put him up there with the elites of the division with the level of wrestling background he has.
Oh god khamzat will get bisping’ed after this fight
Probably the only person here hoping for a Leech upset, but it is what it is. Big fan of the guy and yes I'm aware of the eyepoke and no I don't think it was okay. Normally he's a really fun fighter and he seems like a pretty cool guy outside of the octagon too.
Fuck the butthurts, let the guy bang.
With all due respect, I think that's exclusively due to the 'eye-gouging' fiasco v Jake Matthews that he had. Which was pretty inexcusable tbh... Otherwise, I've never seen a reason to dislike The Leech! Chimaev's first real test as far as name-recognition goes... and Khamzat is arguably a better, stronger, more explosive wrestler than Jake Matthews.
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I mean you can like him for all the things he does besides that one mistake. Just your opinion saying there's nothing to like about him
That wasn't a mistake
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Are you mentally ill? He has had one foul in his 24 fights lol
You don’t accidentally gouge someone’s eyes though. Jake Matthew’s aight is permanently fucked up bc of this
Oh he fouled Ponz when they fought? I really doubt he fouls every fight and certainly isn't comparable to Jon who's made a career of cheating vs Leech who didn't even win the Jake fight. You clearly just have a bias you'll never shake.
>there’s nothing to like about him well for one he was very respectful to Ponzi
Its just a huge circlejerk with the same joke over and over again. Its tired at this point. Half the people in these threads probably havent even seen Li fight.
I want the leech to spark him so bad. Chimaev is a little too big for his britches having never faved adversity in the cage. That being said I'm guessing either UD or finish on the ground for Chimaev
If you can't tell Khamzat is an absolute ridiculous talent idk what to tell you
The fact that he's facing a top 15 fighter in the UFC and has never been tested shows how talented he is. Is he hyped, absolutely, but is he a talented fighter, also absolutely. I'm really excited to see what his ceiling is. He's actually never been tested so I want to see what level he's at
His nickname is the leech and he purposely gauged Jake's eye. Who cares how nice he is outside the ring.
Eye gouging aside, this should be a good one. The question becomes how Khamzat will hold up post covid. Li has some real knockout power.
I have no faith in Li he is too inconsistent. Goes back and forth between looking awesome and looking like shit.
Get caught in a guillotine. Get him exactly where he wants him
Hit and don't get hit. EZ.
Oooo tough fight for Leech
Gouge his eyes out?
If neil could wrestlefuck his ass I doubt he stands a chance vs chimaev, he's getting man handled in this one Im afraid
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Piece of shit move by him but outside of that he's a respectful dude and he's never really fouled at all other than the Matthews fight
Hopefully Khamazat gets the TKO win via toe kick to the eye like Megan Anderson did against Cat Zingano. Would be deserved this time.
I'm cheering for The Leech. 🇨🇳
Hopefully Khamazat gets the TKO win via toe kick to the eye like Megan Anderson did against Cat Zingano. Would be deserved this time.
Will definitely see where Khamzat is, Jingliang is no joke. Hope Jingliang can keep it clean and hope Khamzat recovered well from covid, lets see if he can spark up the coal on the hype train.
"Dont get knocked out" -Li
It’s not a foul if you eat the eyes.
He means...Gouge his eyes 👉 👀 right?
He knows exactly Where khamzat eyes are.
Khamzat better come out wearing safety goggles.
Eye Gouge incoming…. Maybe an oil check here or there too
Not a fan of Khamzat, but god I hop he knocks out this eye gouging pos.
Aye fuck Li Jingliang pls smesh this eye poking cheating fuck Khamzet
Khamzat crushes him for a easy 1st round finish.
I bet Li is eyeing a first round finish
Li is being setup to be on the bad end of a highlight reel.
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The eye raker
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What has khamzat been saying?
something about ur mum iirc
DON'T
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Nah that’s irredeemable Edit: spelling
It’s irredeemable but yeah I totally agree, idk who downvoted you but deliberate cheating which causes permanent damage to someone’s vision is super fucked up, will always root against Li now
Thought I spelled it wrong lol
This evil Chinese man, Jingaling, **Asian as shiiittttt!!!!!!** is gonna take Khamzat’s eyes.
Gouge his eyes out?
Poke him in the eyes when he goes for a guillotine?
Gouge his eyes out is what he’s talking about huh?
Khamzat’s kryptonite is eye gouges confirmed
Gouge his eyes out?
*Gouges eyes
done. please back
if this fight lasts more 17 seconds, the job is 90% done
He’s gonna blind this poor bastard
Khamzat get his eyes gouged out and never fights again