Preview: UFC Fight Night 132 ‘Cerrone vs. Edwards’

Welterweights
Jingliang Li (14-5) vs. Daichi Abe (6-1)
Odds: Jingliang (-340), Abe (+280)

Jingliang is coming off a setback to Jake Matthews, whom we’ll see later on this card, in which he seemed to blatantly dig his fingers into Matthews’ eyes to avoid getting guillotined. It was a bad look for the otherwise fan-friendly “Leech.” The China Top Team staple is an aggressive, lethal puncher who can wrestle a bit as well. One of Jingliang’s greatest assets is his preternatural ability to recover after getting caught flush. He has yet to be knocked out in the UFC despite being dropped in more than a few of his bouts. Jingliang can get too wild and wide at times, but his accuracy and hand speed are such that when he does connect, his punches pack a serious wallop.

Abe is similar in some ways. He is a gifted puncher, too, but his cardio is such a problem that his striking output falls off a cliff after the first round. The Japanese boxer is also very counter-oriented, meaning he isn’t setting the world on fire with his combination punching in the first place. But when he’s able to play the matador, as he was against Luke Jumeau in the first round, he’ll tag his opponent’s mug with left hooks again and again. The HMC Japan standout is a black belt in judo, but we rarely see him try for takedowns unless his man is already hurt.

This looks like a tough matchup for Abe. Jingliang can punch with him and has the endurance to push a withering pace for all three rounds. The Chinese stalwart will probably eat some heavy punches early but recover and continue to throw aggressively as before. When Abe gets tired, his speed and power fall off even more than his actual output, making him a sitting duck for Jingliang’s crushing hooks. “The Leech” devours Abe by TKO in the third round.

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