- ‘There are many gyms that are teaching MMA but they are teaching in the wrong way,’ admits UFC star Li Jingliang
- ‘What we are seeing now is a change and we are all getting better and better’
Zhang "Magnum" Weili is yet to face the music but the Chinese fighter's looming title fight with Brazilian UFC champion Jessica Andrade seems to be changing the way her country is looking at MMA.
The immediate impact has been felt among the fighters.
"The fact that she is fighting for a title has really motivated me and I am not the only one," Li "The Leech" Jingliang said on Friday. "Perhaps this is just the start and from now on you will see many more from China fighting for titles, including male fighters."
Zhang's match-up with Andrade has assured her a place in the history books as the first Chinese fighter to be given a title shot by the UFC.
The 32-year-old Li would like to be the next in line but appreciates the fact that he's in a division " welterweight " that comes overloaded with talent tucked in behind current champion Kamaru "The Nigerian Nightmare" Usman (15-1).
On Saturday at Fight Night 157, Li gets a shot at his first ranked opponent in the 32-year-old Brazilian Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (21-5) " who's ranked at 14 in the current list " and he is hoping victory then will see him headline a UFC card of his own within two years.
UFC Fight Night Shenzhen: Zhang Weili has world within reach but Jessica Andrade out to kill the Chinese dream
"First I have to win against someone who is very tough," said Li. "Then we can look to the future. This event is historic for Chinese MMA, so the experience is very different for fans. Before they might have thought MMA is great but Chinese are not so good at it. Now it is the time to change everyone's minds."
Li has been at the forefront of Chinese MMA for 12 years and has recently branched out into producing training videos he says were a direct response to the constant requests he was getting from across China.
"We have martial arts as our history but people are still learning about MMA," said Li. "The image has been that the sport is just violence but it is an art and it is safe. A lot of fans have reached out to me on social media asking how to fight MMA and I want also to promote the sport. This is a way of letting them know about the sport."
The UFC's new US$13 million Shanghai Performance Institute opened in May with a view to adding the edge " in fighting skills and all-round preparation " that Chinese fighters have so far lacked.
Li was among the five fighters on Saturday's card to have used the facilities in the lead up to the event. Fellow welterweight Song "The Assassin" Kenan (14-4) was another as he prepares to face American Derrick Krantz (23-11) and said there had been attention paid to aspects of his regime " such as diet and recovery nutrition " that he'd previously not either been taught about, or considered.
"We have been able to learn the skills and learn how to fight but there is still so much more for us to learn about the things that can make a real difference when we fight," said Song. "I had never really thought about my diet in the ways UFC fighters do, and how to recover even from training sessions. I've never felt better and now I know I have to turn that into a result on Saturday."
There are six Chinese fighters involved on Saturday " with a stack of interest around rising star 23-year-old Wu "Mulan" Yanan (10-2) who's fighting at flyweight and meets Japanese UFC newcomer Mizuki Inoue (13-5).
Wu said earlier in the week she had also been at the PI listening and learning about best practises but still found a way to miss the weight for her bout by three pounds on Friday. Victory (and a forfeit of 30 per cent of her purse to her opponent) would soon consign that slip up to history but the hope is that she'll come better prepared next time.
Li, for his part, is heading into Saturday believing the tide has turned for China.
"I have been around for a long time now but really MMA in China is still very new," said Li. "There are many gyms that are teaching but they are teaching in the wrong way. What we are seeing now is a change and we are all getting better and better. In China everyone is talking about the UFC and as fighters we hear them. It is up to us now to keep performing."
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