Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov UFC Betting: Will Salikhov claim another points win on Saturday?

Li Jingliang faces Muslim Salikhov in a mixed martial arts bout that plays an important part in Saturday’s UFC show from the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, but picking a winner will be no mean feat for fight fans.

This contest ranks as support for the main attraction when Brian Ortega fights Yair Rodrigues at featherweight, and although that will be a fascinating contest, this matchup could very well steal the limelight.

Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov Betting Odds

Odds are from BetOnline.

Moneyline

• Li Jingliang +144
• Muslim Salikhov -186

Will the Fight Go the Distance?

• Yes -108
• No -122

A mixed bag of results for Li

Li Jingliang is one of the biggest names in Chinese combat sports, and he has a real opportunity to further boost his pedigree with a win against a solid opponent and in front of the watching world.

If he is good enough to claim the desired result and put on a show in the process, he will look back at this fight with Muslim as a turning point in his career.

Li is a 34-year-old fighter competing in the welterweight division and based in Beijing, where he trains with the China Top Team and is a BJJ black belt, which shows in his fighting style.

He is much more comfortable on the mat grappling, but don’t underestimate his striking either, with no fewer than half of his 18 wins coming by KO/TKO.

Jingliang is a talented fighter, but his recent record does little to back that up, with just one win in his last three outings. Going back even further, we note he has lost three of his last seven, which isn’t near good enough if he wants to challenge the UFC championship belt at welterweight.

That form makes this a must-win fight for Li.

Will Li showcase his knockout power against Salikhov?

The UFC have Li Jingliang ranked 14th in the world at welterweight, and his recent results go some way to explaining why that is. He was beaten by Khamzat Chimaev by first-round submission on UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi and by Neil Magny on a points decision on UFC 248 in Las Vegas.

Despite those defeats knocking his career off track, he has been impressive in the bouts he has won, claiming his last three victories by knockout, and fans will want to see more of the same. If Li Jingliang is taken to the ground, he will have enough skills from his BJJ Gi and No-Gi background to survive, and he’s no slouch when trading blows either.

King of Kung Fu will be ready for the spotlight

Salikhov is nicknamed the King of Kung Fu due to his incredible success in the arena of Chinese boxing. The 38-year-old from Dagestan is a multiple Sanda world champion and stands as one of only two non-Chinese fighters to have lifted the Wushu Sanda King’s Cup.

He hasn’t yet enjoyed the same level of success in mixed martial arts, but Muslim is certainly headed in the right direction, and his team knows his career could change overnight if they claim victory in New York.

Salikhov heads into his fight with Li with bags of confidence following a superb run of form that has seen him win each of his last five bouts. The first two of those five were won by KO/TKO, but each of his last three went to the scorecards, where he was awarded victory by the scoring judges.

His most recent outing saw Salikhov defeat Francisco Trinaldo on a unanimous decision in Las Vegas last June. His time out of the octagon isn’t ideal, especially as he’s running out of time to catch the top names in the division, but a convincing sixth win on the bounce would help him cut the line.

Interestingly, Muslim has won just four times by decision, and three of those have come in his last three fights. The other was in Russia in 2013, but the more recent form suggests he is slowing with age and changing his tactics to compensate for that.

With his recent results in mind, the best betting value lies with Salikhov to get the win on points and for this fight to go the distance.

Li Jingliang vs. Muslim Salikhov Betting Tips: Salikhov to win on points (+170) & the fight to go the distance (-122) (BetOnline)