Li Jingliang and Tony Ferguson face off on Saturday in a welterweight bout in the co-main event of UFC 279 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Jingliang is ranked 14th in the division while Ferguson is ranked 11th.
Li Jingliang comes into this fight with a 19-7 record overall and he has won two of his last three flights. Jingliang’s last fight came on July 16th against Muslim Salikhov in July of 2022 and he looked really good. He was outstriking his opponent 38-23 and late in the second round he finished the fight by knockout. Jingliang is averaging 4.39 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.66 significant strikes per minute. He is averaging 1.27 takedowns every 15 minutes and is successful on 40 percent of his attempts. He also stops 60 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts.
On the other side of this fight is Tony Ferguson who sits with a 26-7 record overall and he has lost four fights in a row. His fights have come in the lightweight division and now he moves to welterweight. Ferguson’s last fight came against Michael Chandler in May of 2022 and it was early in the second round that he was knocked out by a nasty kick. Ferguson is averaging 5.12 significant strikes while absorbing 3.81 significant strikes per minute. He is averaging 0.41 takedowns and is successful on 42 percent of his takedown attempts. He is also stopping 66 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. He is averaging 1.1 submission attempts every 15 minutes.
Ferguson showed that his chin has some cracks in it with his last knockout, and I expect he is going to have issues again in this fight. Jingliang has elite power, and he is going to put on a show in this fight. Look for Jingliang to use his power and as the fight goes on he will wear down Ferguson. Back Jingliang to win this fight by knockout.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
