Preview: UFC Fight Night 122 ‘Bisping vs. Gastelum’

Welterweight

Jingliang Li (13-4) vs. Zak Ottow (15-4)

ODDS: Li (-185), Ottow (+160)

ANALYSIS: It has been over seven years since the UFC first sent poor matchmaker Sean Shelby on a sandstorm-ridden, backpacking quest across the Asian continent to find the most viable MMA fighters from China -- a sojourn that netted us basically Tiequan Zhang and nothing else. In the time since, Li has become a surprising a torchbearer for the Chinese MMA cause within the Octagon.

Though he has technically been a win-one, lose-one fighter in the UFC, it is no stretch to say that Li could be 7-0 in the UFC, as his losses have come in a contentious split decision to Nordine Taleb and a come-from-behind defeat to veteran Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura. Li lands a whopping 4.68 significant strikes per minute, operating with reckless abandon, as “The Leech” swarms in with volleys of kicks and punches, looking for the quickest and roughest way to dust up his opponents along the cage.

Ottow, 30, has taken UFC wins over Joshua Burkman and Kiichi Kunimoto, while barely losing out on a split verdict against jiu-jitsu all-star Sergio Moraes. Ottow presents as a natural right-handed fighter, yet excels when he switches between stances. He shows a solid knack for shutting down his opponents’ takedown attempts, excelling with offense off of the takedown counter. Li is not a natural takedown artist, but if Ottow can maintain distance with his low kicks or land his clever counter combinations to stave off the Chinese fighter’s forward momentum, he could find success.

Ottow seems like a roster fighter destined to turn in hard-but-unsuccessful performances against superior opposition. Against the hyper-physical Li, his inferior output will see him trying to counter off of the back foot against a more physical force, trudging forward behind powerful volleys of strikes. If Ottow has any surprising striking offence against “The Leech,” Li is likely to look to force his hand-to-hand strengths and buy takedowns in the clinch, where he can at least temporarily bully Ottow along the fence. The American will never be out of his depth, but his remaining a fancy, counter-oriented stylist for 15 minutes seems unlikely.

Li will give up an inch of reach to his counterpart, yet should still be the forward-charging entity behind his heavy low kicks and punching combinations. Ottow will need to counter clean and pure with calculable consistency to have a chance to win. Therefore, it is far more likely that Li overwhelms the solid, well-rounded Ottow, outworking him and landing the more telling blows over three rounds necessary to win a unanimous verdict.

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