By The Numbers: Muslim Salikhov vs. Jingliang Li

Muslim Salikhov will get his chance to crack the Top 15 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division when he butts heads with Jingliang Li in a featured UFC on ABC 3 attraction this Saturday at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Both men have their hands full.

A five-time world champion in wushu sanda, Salikhov enters the cage on the strength of five consecutive victories. He has not competed since June 5, 2021, when he took a unanimous decision from Francisco Trinaldo in their three-round UFC Fight Night 189 pairing. Li, meanwhile, has lost twice in three outings. He last appeared at UFC 267, where the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev put him to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their Oct. 30 encounter.

As Salikhov and Li pore over the remaining details associated with their forthcoming battle at 170 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

34: Years of age for Li, who was born on March 20, 1988 in Xinjiang, China.

9: Li wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 50% of his career total (18). His list of UFC victims: Santiago Ponzinibbio, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, David Zawada, Zak Ottow, Bobby Nash, Anton Zafir and Dhiego Lima. Li holds four other wins by submission (22%) and five more by decision (28%).

85: Seconds needed for Li to punch out Lima at UFC Fight Night 66 on May 16, 2015. Having occurred more than seven years ago, it remains his fastest stoppage to date.

7: Finishes for Li as a UFC welterweight, placing him third on the promotion’s active list at 170 pounds. Only Matt Brown (14) and Vicente Luque (13) have more.

131: Combined victories between the seven opponents—Chimaev, Taleb, Neil Magny, Jake Matthews, Keita Nakamura, Myung Ho Bae and Pat Crawley—who have defeated Li. They boast a cumulative .744 winning percentage (131-42-3).

38: Years of age for Salikhov, who was born in Buynaksk, Russia, on June 9, 1984.

12: Salikhov victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 67% of his career total (18). His list of UFC victims: Taleb and Ricky Rainey. Salikhov owns two other victories by submission (11%) and four more by decision (22%).

200: Significant strikes landed by Salikhov during his current five-fight winning streak. He has absorbed 152 such strikes in return.

6: Countries in which Salikhov has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 10-1 in China, 3-0 in Russia, 2-0 in the United States, 2-0 in the United Arab Emirates, 1-0 in Singapore and 0-1 in Lebanon.

.632: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Alex Garcia and Kris Hocum—who have beaten Salikhov. They sport a combined record of 24-14.