"I cannot understand the judges' decision" - China's Yan Xiaonan weighs in on controversial split decision loss of Li Jingliang at UFC 279
Yan Xiaonan recently weighed in on her compatriot Li Jingliang's loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279. Like many fans and pundits, Xiaonan also believes 'The Leech' was absolutely robbed in his split decision loss to 'D-Rod' at UFC 279.
Xiaonan could not comprehend how Jingliang came up on the short side of that decision. The chinese strawweight believes judges often deliver controversial decisions as they view the fight from completely different angles than the audience.
The 33-year-old told James Lynch in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA:
"I watched the fight last night. I thought Li Jingliang won that fight 100%. I cannot understand the judges decision but maybe they view the fight from different angles than us. So, I don't know."
Watch Xiaonan's interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:
Fans have already sided with Li Jingliang due to the mistreatment he received leading up to UFC 279. 'The Leech' initially did not get to show off his slick custom-made suit due a canceled pre-fight presser.
The Chinese standout then lost out on his co-main event spot against Tony Ferguson after Khamzat Chimaev's weight miss led to the reshuffling of the entire card. Jingliang further earned fans' favor by accepting a bout against the relatively unknown and ten pounds heavier Daniel Rodriguez.
However, Jingliang's woes did not end there as he came up the short end of a split decision that he had won, according to popular opinion.
Nate Diaz: "They didn't want to let me fight Chung Li. That motherf--ker had the dopest suit..."
Marc Raimondi: "I think his name is Li Jingliang."
Diaz: "I didn't mean to do that to him. Did you see the suit?!... They should have shown him love" #UFC279 https://t.co/d37F09ujcI
Yan Xiaonan believes Zhang Weili will bring the belt back to China at UFC 281
Zhang Weili lost her strawweight strap to Rose Namajunas via a head-kick KO loss in April last year. 'Magnum' failed to regain her title in the rematch in November, losing via a closely contested split decision.
The strawweight title has since changed hands with Namajunas getting dethroned by Carla Esparza after their lackluster five-rounder earlier this year. Weili will now get another shot at reclaiming her title against Esparza at UFC 281 in November.
Yan Xiaonan is rooting for Weili to bring the belt back to her homeland this time. While Xiaonan acknowledged Esparza's wrestling skillset, she doesn't believe 'Cookie Monster' will be able to take 'Magnum' down. In the same interview, she said:
"I hope Weili win this fight and take belt back to China. And Carla's wrestling is very good. She's very strong but I don't think she can take Weili down easily."