It’s the second time the UFC has booked this matchup between these two welterweight action fighters.
A welterweight bout with Fight of the Night potential is slated for the UFC’s return to mainland China.
MMA Fighting reports that Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Li Jingliang have been booked for UFC Shenzhen, which takes place on August 31st. This matchup was scheduled for for UFC Beijing last November, only for Zaleski to withdraw with an injury.
Zaleski (21-5) is on a seven-fight winning streak, most recently submitting Curtis Millender at UFC Wichita in March. The Brazilian, who’s also known as Elizeu Capoeira, has racked up three Fight of the Night bonuses and has produced notable highlight-reel KOs of Sean Strickland and Luigi Vendramini.
Jingliang (16-5) is 8-3 inside the Octagon, and he’s collected four post-fight bonus checks along the way. “The Leech” did stay on the UFC Beijing card after Zaleski withdrew, stopping David Zawada with a body kick. Only Jake Matthews has been able to best Jingliang over the past three years.
UFC Shenzhen streams live exclusively on ESPN+. The main event is expected to be a strawweight title bout between reigning champion Jessica Andrade and Weili Zhang, who is seeking to become the first Chinese athlete to win a UFC title.