Prediction for the fight Muslim Salikhov vs Li Jinliang

At the time of selection of fighters who will sign contracts with the UFC, the leadership of the league is very critical of age athletes. However, Muslim Salikhov was an exception and, judging by his success, Dana White did not doubt the correctness of his choice. A convincing series of victories allowed the "King of Kung Fu" to come close to the TOP 15 welterweight, but first he will need to overcome a formidable opponent in the face of Jinliang Li.

This Chinese prospect is in his eighth year with the promotion and will have to defend his right to the 14th spot at UFC on ACB 3 on July 16th. Two of the most dangerous strikers will enter the octagon of the best MMA organization in the world in the third most important duel of the evening. Who will be stronger and whose striking technique will be more effective? We will answer this question in our detailed prediction.

• Muslim Salikhov vs Li Jinliang;
• Muslim Salikhov;
• Li Jinliang;
• Comparative analysis;
• Game Totals Prediction.

Muslim Salikhov vs Li Jinliang

Muslim Salikhov

The Russian is a titled representative of Wushu Sanda and kickboxing. His Wushu performances include three gold medals from Russian championships, two gold medals from Europe, and five gold medals from world tournaments, plus one silver medal. In professional kick, he spent 199 fights, losing only 13 of them. Let's add here the blue belt in BJJ, as well as the title of MSMK in Wushu Sanda.

In mixed martial arts, Muslim spent two dozen performances, fought in M-1, and also made a good career for himself in the homeland of his future opponent - in China. So far, the names of top opponents do not appear in the fighter’s statistics, however, Salikhov demonstrates his highest class in every fight and there is no reason to doubt his viability.

Strengths

The way Muslim works in the stand is an art. He is one of the few fighters who manages to find the golden mean between showiness and efficiency. Turntables, lowkicks, kicks to the head and hand combinations open the door to the world of knockouts for him.

Another serious trump card of Salikhov is his legs. The past in kickboxing and wushu is clearly expressed in his manner of movement. We have to admit that the maneuverability of the Russian, not taking into account the active protection, allows him to seriously reduce the damage received during the battle.

Weaknesses

In attack, our athlete is impeccable, even when it comes to twists and transfers to the ground. However, his work cannot be called confident from the back, and he received those very 2 defeats in his career precisely by submissions. Taking into account the age issue, it is unlikely that he will be able to work out this gap to the ideal.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Muslim is 38 years old, but despite this, he goes to the UFC for a series of 5 victories. In extreme meetings, he managed to win only by judicial decisions, which was simultaneously influenced by the age of the athlete, the frequency of performances (1 time per year), and also the level of opponents. Laureano Staropoli, Eliseu dos Santos and Francisco Trinaldo are serious guys, but it will only get more difficult. Salikhov was again out of the cage for more than a year, and at such a pace it would be naive to expect even minimal progress from him, it is more important that he does not start to abruptly lose ground.

Li Jinliang

The Chinese fighter has also repeatedly appeared in Wushu Sanda tournaments, so matchmaking in this fight is fully justified. However, in addition to this, Lee has a black belt in BJJ, he has a serious background in wrestling, as well as the status of an MMA champion in the Legend FC organization. This guy is a real machine for issuing bright confrontations, and it’s not for nothing that he has been awarded bonuses in the UFC 6 times already.

Remarkably, Jinliang managed to try himself in fights with young prospects and seasoned veterans, so in terms of experience he is in no way inferior to his more eminent colleagues. Whether the Lich wins or loses, his performances are often on the edge, but with his punching power, he manages to get out of the most difficult situations.

Strengths

Li is a natural puncher, and when his punches reach the goal, opponents always fall. Remarkably, this happens even after non-amplitude hits, including ground and pound, not to mention good sweeping splashes and combinations.

Jinliang also knows how to handle the opponent with his feet, and often he does this by "liquidating" the opponent's lower limbs. About a third of all the punches he throws are low kicks.

The Chinese athlete is good not only in finishing on the ground, but also in position control and submissions. He works confidently on the ground floor, in many fights he uses wrestling, mixing it with the stand, which becomes a real problem for those who are not ready to fight in all planes.

Weaknesses

Li's main omission is his defense, and the desire to finish the fight ahead of schedule. Neither in the standing position, nor on the ground, he can boast of a good level of defense, therefore, missed blows and defeats due to a disregard for counterpart attacks become the norm for him.

The current form and readiness of the fighter

Jinliang is 34 years old and has 2 losses and 3 wins in his last 5 fights. Neil Magny and Khamzat Chimaev were able to find the keys to defeating the Chinese, but he himself went through extremely serious opponents: Santiago Ponzinibbio, David Zavada and Eliseu dos Santos - all ahead of schedule. His last fight was at the end of October last year, and it's also quite a downtime, but Lee is still young enough to show bright fights where he can really surprise.

Comparative analysis

In this pair, Jinliang will be a little larger, which is a couple of centimeters taller, and in terms of arm span is 4 cm ahead of the enemy. In terms of overall activity and work done in the cage, Lee is also a little ahead, however, Muslim levels this with indicators of accuracy and defensive actions - he misses it is really rarer, and in technical terms (regarding the rack), it is more seriously charged. While the Chinese hit long and sweeping combinations, exposing his head to counterattacks, Salikhov shifts, cuts corners and hits single shots on the waste. It is this difference in the style of the guys that will play a big role, since it will be much easier to catch Jinliang, who always pushes forward, to attack than the mobile and mobile Muslim.

On the ground, the situation is not so rosy, since Lee acts much more competently as an attacking link. As mentioned above, he is good at ground and pound technique, and his BJJ poses a serious threat, even though he could not literally oppose Chimaev. Nevertheless, Salikhov is not Khamzat, and he will not be able to deal with the Lich so easily on the ground. Although, the Russian’s defense against takedowns is excellent, and in general, if you offer Lee a stand-up fight, he always accepts the challenge and flies into the embrasure. In striking power, he will have the championship, as well as in the age issue, however, the fighting IQ of the "King of Kung Fu" should help him outplay the strengths of a straightforward and die-hard opponent.

Muslim Salikhov vs Li Jinliang Fight Prediction

In this fight, two skilled welterweights will find out one truth: which is more effective, the street style of a grunt, or the method of a tactician who carefully calculates his every move? Jinliang is younger, visually he is more powerful and extremely dangerous in the work of the first number. But will all this matter when Muslim turns on the footwork, starts to feint and keep his counterpart at a safe distance for himself, launching turntables on his body and head to meet him? In this fight, I bet on a more high-class, inventive and able to adapt to the situation athlete, which is Salikhov. Lee can go to the ground if he fails in the standing position, but often the Chinese athlete cuts to the end, not paying attention to his own mistakes. And our fighter knows how to use these same mistakes like no other. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Prediction: Muslim Salikhov's victory