UFC: Li Jingliang says ‘I failed’, admits Khamzat Chimaev ‘did exactly what he wanted’
- ‘The Leech’ vows to work on his ground game after getting manhandled by Chimaev at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi
- ‘Failure isn’t scary … I will learn from this experience,’ insists the Chinese veteran
After vowing to shock the world, Chinese veteran Li Jingliang was more than humbled by Khamzat Chimaev on the UFC 267 main card in Abu Dhabi last weekend.
“Borz” (10-0) manhandled “The Leech” en route to a first round submission victory by rear-naked choke, cementing his status as the promotion’s next budding superstar.
The 27-year-old Chechen-born Swede did not absorb a single strike, again, as he lifted Jingliang (18-7) up, carried him across the Octagon like a child, and put him to sleep.
“You all watched the fight. It ended very quickly. I didn’t really show off my skill set,” Jingliang said this week, in a video posted to his social media and translated by YouTube user Scarlett Zeng. “My opponent performed very well. He did exactly what he wanted, and again, I didn’t fight according to my skill set.
“This is a mixed martial arts match. I think my reaction was a bit slow. I didn’t do it well enough. I didn’t do my takedown defence well. I eventually got taken down and was attacked on the ground. Then my back, then my leg was trapped.