"They informed me just 3 hours before the release to the press" - Li Jingliang reveals UFC offered him Tony Ferguson fight while watching UFC 278
Li Jingliang is scheduled to co-headline UFC 279 next Saturday against Tony Ferguson. 'The Leech' recently revealed that he got the news of the confirmation of the bout only hours before it was released to the media.
The matchup, which has scaled up the UFC 279 card, was announced during the UFC 278 post-fight presser. According to Jingliang, he was watching the UFC 278 broadcast when he got a call from UFC president Dana White informing him that Ferguson had accepted the bout. 'The Leech' said in a promotional UFC video:
"I'm feeling good right now. After the fight with Muslim Salikhov, I told you guys I want to be back inside the octagon as soon as possible. The UFC noticed it, the matchmakers did their job, but I never thought it would be this soon. To speak the truth, they informed me just three hours early before they release to the press. The phone rang when I was watching UFC 278. They said, 'Tony has agreed for this fight.' I was preparing to post a selfie with Tony as announcement on the next day. But you know, after the fight of UFC 278 Dana just simply told the media that this fight is a thing."
Watch the clip below:
Jingliang admitted to being surprised by Ferguson accepting the matchup. 'The Leech' has also promised to answer knockdowns with knockdowns against 'El Cucuy'.
Chael Sonnen doesn't think Li Jingliang is a big enough name to bring Tony Ferguson back
Tony Ferguson's magnificent twelve-fight win streak was brutally ended by Justin Gaethje in 2020. 'El Cucuy' has since dropped four in a row, albeit against high-level opponents.
Ferguson will be returning to welterweight for the first time in over a decade when he faces Li Jingliang at UFC 279. The former interim lightweight champ, who hasn't sparred in years, has also been training at Jackson Wink MMA for his upcoming bout.
While this might be the perfect storyline for Tony Ferguson's comeback, former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen doesn't believe he has a noteworthy opponent. While he seemingly didn't want to undermine Jingliang, Sonnen insists that 'The Leech' is still relatively unknown. 'The American Gangster' recently said on The MMA Hour:
“Now we’re going to bring Ferguson back, great story, he’s hanging in there, he’s traded camps, he’s doing things different, and you’re giving him — I don’t know of ‘Leech’ [Jingliang]. I don’t know if that’s his nickname or that’s his name, and I’m not trying to be a dick. I assume you call a guy a leech, like he claims to be — I haven’t the foggiest idea who we’ve got opposite Tony Ferguson or how we’re supposed to pretend that that matters.”
Watch Sonnen's appearance on The MMA Hour below: