On Saturday night Beijing time, the luxurious lineup of UFC267 will be held at Abu Dhabi Fighting Island. Although the two championship battles in the finale of this issue have attracted much attention and far-reaching influence, in the hearts of the vast number of Chinese audiences, the real headline main match of the night is the battle we will talk about below.
Race 2 of the main tournament, middleweight
Li Jingliang (#11) vs. Kanzat-Chimayev
From the day the news was confirmed, this focus showdown has made all Chinese fans and even boxing fans around the world look forward to it. As a strong newcomer who has emerged in the past two years, "Chechen Wolf" Chimayev has quickly become one of the most concerned and anticipated "supernovae" in the octagon cage with his all-win record, outstanding performance and the fastest three-game winning streak in UFC history.
Although the upward speed was once slowed down because of the new crown infection, Chimayev, after recovering, is still the terrifying "killer on the field" and "future star" in the eyes of many media and audiences.
And when many of the top masters of the middleweight class, while scorning the rocket of this young junior, while jealous of the amazing talent and infinite potential he showed, the "vampire" Li Jingliang, who had fought in the octagon cage for many years and had a brilliant record, and had now climbed to the top ten edges of the second middle school, decided to step forward and personally test the color of this "Chechen wolf".
Li Jingliang's engagement was quickly met with a positive response from Chimayev. Because just like the "vampire" who already has enough record capital, who wants to use the opponent's super popularity to clear the last obstacle to his own road to the championship, the "Chechen wolf" who has soared rapidly but has an unstable foundation also needs a high ranking player with full gold content to realize his ambition of "parachuting" the top fifteen, and then officially joining the power game and making a career.
Today, the two masters who take what they need and hit it off will usher in an important battle in their respective careers. Although many foreign media are more optimistic about The dominant body shape and the limelight of Chimayev, in fact, the strength comparison and the probability of victory and defeat between the two sides cannot be considered from the "impression point" alone.
To be fair, since his debut, 9 games have been won, and last year he achieved "crushing three consecutive" in the octagon cage, "Chechen Wolf", is indeed a rare "genius player", amazing physical fitness, solid wrestling skills, excellent batting talent, so that he has great potential and endless possibilities on the road of MMA, but, too smooth career, but also let his other important qualities, so far has not been effectively verified, and a potential newcomer's development ceiling and final achievements, It is often determined by these "hidden qualities" in addition to physical and technical.
In the face of opponents whose strength is obviously inferior to their own, being able to defeat and grab in one fell swoop like a lion and a rabbit is of course a very rare outstanding ability, but when facing a master with equal strength, or even stronger than himself in some aspects, tenacious will, cool head, enough patience, and interpretation of the situation, rhythm adjustment, tactical trade-offs, are more important key factors than physical fitness and technical reserves, and the "unknowns" on these Chimayev are precisely on Li Jingliang, who has been in the battlefield and is accustomed to the wind and waves. The most valuable qualities.
It is precisely because of this that in the face of the arrogant and cruel "Chechen wolf", Li Jingliang is not only emotionally stable, but also full of confidence, because as he said, if Chimayev really has the ability to defeat himself, he will calmly accept the result of becoming a "stepping stone", but if this "wolf" is not so perfect and powerful, he will unceremoniously hunt it and kill it.
As for Chimayev, it is likely that he did not behave as easily as he did before the game, because even if Li Jingliang lost this battle, he was still the top player with a strong record and a ranking, and once he lost, he would completely lose his "sacred aura" like many "undefeated newcomers" who had appeared, and then become a "mortal" who needed to accumulate records and qualifications to get the opportunity to ascend.