Watch: Li Jingliang cheers and whistles, waves Chinese flag as Song Yadong walks out at UFC Vegas 60
Li Jingliang was in attendance as fellow countryman Song Yadong took on perennial bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen in the main-event at UFC Vegas 60. 'The Leech' cheered and whistled while proudly waving the Chinese flag as Yadong made his way to the octagon.
Watch Li Jingliang support Yadong below:
Li Jingliang in the house supporting Song Yadong #ufcvegas60 https://t.co/CUnyOOO5SB
Surging Chinese prospect Song Yadong faced his steepest competition till date in Cory Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 60. 'Kung Fu Kid' was off to a strong start before Sandhagen split him open above the left eye with a brutal elbow in round two.
While the brutal cut visibly slowed down his output, Yadong showed immense heart in going toe-to-toe against 'Sandman' till round 4. The cageside doctor, who had taken a closer look at Yadong's cut in between rounds, saw enough by the end of the fourth to waive off the fight.
When the Chinese flag was pulled off Li Jingliang's shoulders
The UFC banned fighters from carrying their country's flags ahead of UFC 274 in May. Prior to this, fighters carrying flags had been a cause of controversy on several occasions, like Belal Muhammad carrying the Palestinian flag, or Edmen Shahbazyan carrying a flag for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Asked if the flag ban was true, Dana White said at the UFC 274 post-fight presser:
“Yeah. You guys know why. Let’s not even play that f—king game.”
Watch the UFC 274 post-fight presser below:
Despite the flag ban, Li Jingliang managed to smuggle in the five-star red flag for his UFC Long Island clash against Muslim Salikhov at UFC Long Island in July. Leading up to the fight, Jingliang had stated that the bout was being widely promoted in China as Salikhov was an acclaimed fighter there.
Jingliang went on to score a bonus-winning second-round knockout win over Salikhov and decided to celebrate his victory by bringing out the Chinese flag. As 'The Leech' posed with the flag for post-fight pictures, a UFC employee yanked it away and walked out of the octagon. Jingliang's attempts to retrieve his flag were futile as the octagon door was closed on him.
Watch the sequence below:
The Leech got his Chinese flag ripped away from him by a UFC employee after his finish at #UFCLongIsland https://t.co/CnIIENXu5u