Welterweights
NR | Jingliang Li (17-5) vs. NR | Neil Magny (21-7)Advertisement
The UFC’s first real efforts to break into China came back in 2014, which saw the promotion sign a bunch of fighters who were not ready to make an impact. However, it did manage to find one gem among the group. Li has had an impressive career thus far and still seems to be improving six years later. He has shown an impressive ability to adapt. Known as “The Leech” due to his grinding wrestling game, Li had more trouble than expected implementing that strategy against David Michaud in his UFC debut. While most fighters would have stuck to their guns, Li quickly changed his game plan, reinventing himself as a more willing kickboxer. It has always been a tenuous approach—Li’s fights have typically seen him get absolutely blasted in the first round until he can start reading his opponents—but it has resulted in some exciting fights and a lot of success, as he has won seven of his last eight bouts. His August win over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos may wind up being a breakout performance; it came in tandem with a poor performance from Zaleski dos Santos, but Li was excellent, coming out sharp from the jump and picking apart the Brazilian on his way to a late knockout. Weili Zhang may have beaten him to the punch as China’s first truly elite fighter inside the Octagon, but if Li’s improvements stick, he may be joining her sooner rather than later.
Li faces a returning Neil Magny, who is coming off what is by far the longest layoff of his career. Magny has had an odd career. After his appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter,” he lost two of his next three fights, which would have been enough to get him cut during most points in the UFC’s history. However, Magny had the good fortune to time his troubles when the UFC was expanding its calendar and needed a larger roster, so he got a third shot at a win and made good by picking apart Gasan Umalatov. From there, it was off to the races. Magny took seven fights in a shade over 15 months and won all of them, and while Demian Maia smoked him to snap that winning streak, he had established himself as a top welterweight. There have been plenty of ups and downs since. Save for a 2015 victory over Kelvin Gastelum, Magny’s resume is certainly a case of more quantity than quality when it comes to wins. With that said, Magny remains a tricky fighter. He is not the best at establishing his long frame, but given time and space to work, he can effectively use his range; and opponents often seem to be drawn into his underrated clinch game. Magny has been on the shelf due to USADA issues since his loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio in late 2018, so this represents a solid opportunity for him to get back to work and re-establish himself.
Most of the factors in this fight work in Li’s favor. Magny’s style hinges a lot on his opponents respecting his striking. For one thing, everything tends to fall apart for him when his counterparts get aggressive and he is forced to retreat, but in general, it is an outside-in type of style in which the threat of his boxing makes his opponents seek out the clinch. That is Magny’s secret weapon. Li can probably defuse all of that, particularly after his performance against Zaleski dos Santos. Even when it has taken him a while to warm up, he is comfortable staying at a medium range and reading his opponents. Leg kicks—a weapon Li used to great effect in his last fight—have always worked well against Magny, and there is not much threat of a finish due to Li’s durability and the Elevation Fight Team rep’s lack of power. Essentially, all Li has to do is fight an intelligent fight and avoid the clinch, and he has more than proven that he has the ability to do so. The pick is for Li to pick up steam as the fight goes on and score a third-round stoppage.
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