Jul 8, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Jingliang Li (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Anton Zafir (not pictured) during The Ultimate Fighter Finale at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Li Jingliang out of UFC 287 fight against Michael Chiesa
UFC 287 has taken a hit as Li Jingliang has been forced out of his welterweight scrap against Michael Chiesa.
Jingliang first announced the news Monday on Chinese social media platform Douyin, and since then, the news has been confirmed by Chiesa’s manager. It’s also uncertain if Chiesa will remain on the card which takes place on April 8 in Miami, Florida.
Li Jingliang (19-8) is coming off a split decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279 in a fight he took on 24 hours’ notice after he was originally slated to face Tony Ferguson on the card. Before the setback, Jingliang, scored a TKO win over Muslim Salikhov to return to the win column after a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev.
Jingliang is 2-3 in his last five as he has alternated losses and wins with the other loss coming to Neil Magny by decision and his other win coming by KO over Santiago Ponzinibbio. The 34-year-old is currently unranked but does hold notable wins over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Frank Camacho, David Michaud, and Zak Ottow while being 11-6 in the UFC.
Michael Chiesa (18-6) hasn’t fought since November of 2021 when he suffered a decision loss to Sean Brady and before that, was submitted by Vicente Luque. The 13th-ranked welterweight is 4-2 since moving back up to 170lbs and started out 4-0 with wins over Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, Rafael dos Anjos, and Magny before the back-to-back losses.
Chiesa has been dealing with a back injury which has kept him out of action for nearly a year-and-a-half. Chiesa also holds notable wins over Beneil Dariush, Jim Miller, and Al Iaquinta while being 11-6 inside the Octagon – the same record as Jingliang.
With Jingliang out, UFC 287 is now as follows:
- Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya
- Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal
- Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
- Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
- Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Chris Curtis vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- Michael Chiesa vs. TBA
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joseph Pyfer
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lupita Godinez
- Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
- Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
- Chris Barnett vs. Chase Sherman
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs. TBA
- Jaqueline Amorim vs. Sam Hughes
