In the early morning of July 17, Beijing time, "Vampire" Li Jingliang held a focus duel with "Sanda Tsar" Muslimu Salekov in the UFC Fighting Night Event in New York, USA. Finally, with 22 seconds left before the end of the second round, Li Jingliang knocked the opponent down with a heavy blow, and then TKO ended the opponent in the ground.
After the game, Li Jingliang was emotional, and he climbed onto the octagon cage to show the five-star red flag to the audience. The move, though, brought him some controversy.
According to the Mma Mania website, an authoritative website for mixed martial arts, Li Jingliang's act of displaying the national flag on the spot was blocked by the staff, and the national flag was taken away.
According to the website, in May 2022, the UFC's "flag ban" came into effect from the UFC 274 competition. Players are no longer allowed to display the national flag or any other flag in the octagonal cage. Therefore, the players proudly wore the national flag after winning, which is currently a violation of the rules.
Foreign media said that Li Jingliang is likely to get a ticket for this.
Li Jingliang also confirmed in an interview after the game that he might be fined: "The security guard directly took the national flag away, which frightened me, and I only reacted at that time, I can't take the national flag, I will be fined." ”
In addition, in this game, Li Jingliang was awarded the "Best Performance Award" for his outstanding performance, and the bonus of an additional $50,000 was bonused, which he said would all be handed over to his wife. "It must be turned in, there is no doubt, no ideas must be!" Li Jingliang said.
Now, Li Jingliang is eager to fight a second battle with Magni. If he could, he hoped to show China's strength again when Song Yadong played the headline main tournament on September 17. In UFC 248 in 2020, Li Jingliang lost to Magni with a point disadvantage, and he was very unwilling.