Preview: UFC 267 ‘Blachowicz vs. Teixeira’

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Welterweights

NR | Khamzat Chimaev (9-0, 3-0 UFC) vs. #11 WW | Jingliang Li (18-6, 10-4 UFC)

ODDS: Chimaev (-550), Li (+425)

Chimaev’s 16 months on the UFC roster sure have been something. Chechen-born and fighting out of Sweden, Chimaev made his debut on late notice in July 2020 and immediately caught the attention of the entire sport. Chimaev mauled John Phillips and Rhys McKee in his first two fights, which was not unexpected. However, he scored those two wins just 10 days apart, immediately earning himself favored status from the UFC, which booked him for a follow-up fight as soon as possible. That bout came a shade under two months later against Gerald Meerschaert, who figured to at least slow down the wrestling-heavy approach Chimaev had brought to his first two UFC bouts. Instead, Chimaev knocked Meerschaert out cold in just 17 seconds. His renown may have outstripped his resume, but after just three wins, Chimaev established himself as a top prospect to watch and a potential star. The UFC decided to roll with the hot hand and immediately book Chimaev once again, this time for a December main event against Leon Edwards. Then things completely went south. The Edwards fight repeatedly fell apart, at first due to COVID-19 issues with Edwards but then with Chimaev getting hit with the virus about as hard as anyone in the sport and teasing retirement on social media after coughing up blood after a training session. A year ago, every question around Chimaev centered on how quickly he could become a title contender. Now, it is just a question about whether he can recapture his 2020 form. At any rate, the UFC is not slowing down with his matchmaking. While this is not quite as high-profile as the Edwards fight, he gets a ranked opponent in Li.

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Li was essentially the lone talent worth keeping from the UFC’s first attempt to break into China circa 2014, and his ascent has been fun to track. Li came to the UFC as a grinding wrestler, hence his “Leech” nickname, but to his credit, he was quick to adjust after a narrow decision win over David Michaud in his promotional debut, building out a sharp striking game over the course of the next few years. For a while, Li was essentially relegated to hardcore favorite status, taking part in action-packed affairs that were mostly on low-profile cards in Asia. However, a 2019 win over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos finally broke Li into the rankings, and he has been featured prominently since. Admittedly, Li followed that Zaleski dos Santos win with a fairly terrible performance against Neil Magny, but he rebounded in a major way in January. Even with Li’s historical tendency to start slow, he managed to starch Santiago Ponzinibbio for a first-round knockout. That danger makes Li an interesting challenge for Chimaev, particularly if this fight goes past a round. While Li usually takes a while to get into rhythm, the later stretches of his fights usually see him able to counter his opponent and take over with some powerful strikes. This represents a serious step up in competition for Chimaev from his last three opponents, but it is also the exact right type of stylistic matchup to get him a big win if he looks close to his 2020 form. Chimaev is a bruising bully of a wrestler and grappler, and while taking damage does not seem to take Li out of his game, the Chinese fighter has historically gotten completely thrown off against opponents who can control him physically, whether it was Magny’s reach or the wrestling-heavy approach of Jake Matthews, who memorably got Li so flustered that he decided to gouge the Aussie’s eyes. In its own way, it will be fascinating to see if Chimaev gets taken out of his game if Li is successfully able to fight dirty without suffering any consequences. Still, most of the suspense here centers on how Chimaev looks after such a high-profile battle with COVID-19. Assuming he looks close to his old self, the pick is Chimaev via second-round stoppage.

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