By the Numbers: Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Jingliang Li

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The last time he fought in China, Jingliang Li unleashed a devastating body kick that folded his opponent. Expect the same intensity when “The Leech” returns to the Octagon, this time in Shenzhen at UFC Fight Night 157.

Li will not have an easy task, however, as he faces Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, who is currently on a seven-fight winning streak. Let the numbers below get you acquainted on this battle of finishers.

Octagon appearances

Li and dos Santos entered the Ultimate Fighting Championship a year apart from each other. First off was Li, who joined the organization in 2014 and made his debut on May 24 opposite David Michaud at UFC 173. It was a close encounter that saw “The Leech” earn a split decision victory. In total, he has fought for the promotion a total of 11 times with a record of 8-3.

Dos Santos has only suffered one defeat in eight UFC bouts, and that was in his promotional debut opposite Nicolas Dalby at UFC Fight Night 67 in May 2015. However, he would win his next seven fights and is coming off a submission victory over the previously undefeated Curtis Millender.

Post-fight bonuses

Both fighters never fail to turn in exciting fights, and this is evidenced by the seven post-fight bonuses between them. Dos Santos owns three Fight of the Night awards (versus Omari Akhmedov, Lyman Good and Max Griffin) while Li holds two Fight of the Night (versus Frank Camacho and Jake Matthews) and two Performance of the Night (versus Zak Ottow and David Zawada) bonuses.

Common opponent: Keita Nakamura

Dos Santos and Keita Nakamura engaged in a fast-paced, three-round spectacle at UFC Fight Night 96. “Capoeira” was able to take the Japanese down once but in turn, was taken to the ground five times. He had a higher number of significant strikes landed at 34, as opposed to Nakamura’s 24, and would win a unanimous decision.

At UFC Fight Night 75, Li battered Nakamura with heavy shots in round two. However, Nakamura turned the tables in the final stanza by stopping “The Leech” with a rear-naked choke. According to Fightmetric, Li lead 79-40 in significant strikes landed despite the loss.

Wins by knockout

With 14 victories by KO or TKO, dos Santos clearly has the more powerful hands. He’s starched some tough adversaries in the Octagon too, including Luigi Vendramini, Sean Strickland and Omari Akhmedov. From 2010 to 2011, he also enjoyed a run of four consecutive knockouts, including a furious kick to the body against Dyego Roberto at Samurai FC.

Li’s ever-evolving striking in mixed martial arts has enabled him to stop five UFC opponents and six overall. The Sanda specialist has knocked out the likes of Zawada, Ottow, Nash, Anton Zafir, Dhiego Lima and Andrei Liu.

Wins by submission

Both fighters have a decent ground game, with Li having an edge in submission victories with five. He has tapped out Luke Jumeau, Tony Rossini, Yun Tao Gong, Liu Jin Wen and Gadzhiev Makhach. Dos Santos, on the other hand, has three wins by submission. Apart from Millender, he has also tapped out Eduardo Ramon and Misael Chamorro.