Salikhov has certainly rebounded from a disappointing UFC debut. A
multi-time champion in wushu sanda, Salikhov came to the UFC in
2017 as a hyped talent who figured to help the promotion break into
the Asian market. However, after getting outwrestled and tapped out
by Alex Garcia
in his first trip to the Octagon, “The King of Kung Fu” was easily
written off. Since then, everything has clicked wonderfully for
Salikhov. Some of it has been matchmaking, but Salikhov has also
obviously improved his takedown defense from a mixed martial arts
standpoint, leading to a string of steady wins and an undefeated
record since the loss to Garcia. Despite Salikhov’s predilection
for flashy offense at times, his success has mostly gone under the
radar—he has only fought at a pace of about one fight per calendar
year, and none of those bouts have been in a particularly
high-profile position—but at 38 years old, he gets a big chance at
a breakthrough win against Li. It is now common to see Chinese
fighters dotting UFC cards, but there was a while when Li was the
lone relevant Chinese fighter on the roster. The UFC initially
attempted to crack the Chinese market back in 2014, and “The Leech”
was the only talent that stuck. He has done well to adapt. Li came
to the UFC as a grinding wrestler—hence the nickname—but quickly
realized he had to pivot to a more effective approach, building a
sharp and counter-heavy striking attack. Li does appear to have a
clear ceiling when it comes to actual contender status, as Neil Magny
and Khamzat
Chimaev beat him without much difficulty, but recent victories
over Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos and Santiago
Ponzinibbio sandwiching those losses do prove that he is a
solid fighter who can present a problem for most of the
welterweight division—a far cry from what was expected from him
back upon his entry to the UFC. Salikhov is probably the rightful
favorite. Li does sometimes show up in his worst form against
opponents who can keep him at range, and his approach of slow
starts giving way to counters and wrestling does seem like a poor
stylistic matchup against the Russian. However, Salikhov does deal
with some thin margins due to a slow pace, and at 38 years old and
facing a big step up in competition, it does seem worth taking a
flier on Li to warm up down the stretch and turn this into the type
of grimy fight that he can win. The pick is Li via decision.
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