A fighter’s nickname can go a long way in popularising him among the fanbase. With that in mind, our focus today will be on Li Jingliang and his nickname, ‘The Leech’. His fight against Carlos Prates at UFC 305 is around the corner, and today, we’ll try to uncover a few facts about the Chinese veteran.

Li Jingliang has always been a fighter, and born in the Northwestern region of his native country of China, the 36-year-old started off his combat training in Chinese wrestling and Sanda. But what led him to adopt ‘The Leech’ as a nickname? Well, there is an unusual story behind it that involves one of Jingliang’s friends.

How did Li Jingliang come to be called ‘The Leech’?

The very first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of leeches, is the gory way these annelids suck out their target’s blood. But why did the fighting community begin calling Jingliang ‘The Leech’? It all points to the time when the Chinese mixed martial artist choked out one of his opponents in a phenomenal execution of a guillotine hold. The audience was left perplexed as the 36-year-old looked as if he was sucking out all of his opponent’s blood.

That was when one of his friends screamed, “The leech!” Needless to say, the Chinese welterweight contender liked the moniker and it stuck like superglue. He went on to advertise himself as ‘The Leech’ in all of his outings. On top of that, the guillotine even became one of his most frequently executed moves in the MMA cage.

Before making his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Jingliang defeated 4 of his opponents via submission. And all of them were defeated via a phenomenal execution of the guillotine choke.

Ever since he adopted ‘The Leech’ as his moniker, Li Jingliang’s MMA career turned out to be pretty impressive. Currently boasting a 19-8 record, he has registered a highly respectable resume in the fighting world. But how has he fared in the UFC since joining the roster? Let’s move over to that aspect of Jingliang’s career.

How has ‘The Leech’ fared in the UFC so far?

After making a triumphant debut back in 2014, ‘The Leech’ registered wins in double digits. 11, to be exact. He defeated the likes of Santiago Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov. However, he wasn’t safe from defeats, as he fell prey to others on 6 different occasions. ‘The Leech’ failed to claim victory over Neil Magny and Khamzat Chimaev, which could have pushed him closer to title contention.

Now, Jingliang is fresh off a loss against Daniel Rodriguez, who recently competed in a short-notice fight in Saudi Arabia. With 3 losses in his last 5 fights, things have started to get a little tough for the Chinese. But he’s all set to land against Carlos Prates, who’s undefeated in Dana White’s promotion. At 36 years of age, fight fans might believe that the end could be near for Jingliang in the stacked welterweight division, but he’s still looking for that one big title fight. ‘The Leech’ needs to bring his A-game to Australia, as this could be his last run toward the title.

What do you think about Li Jingliang’s nickname? Do you think he’ll ‘leech’ through Carlos Prates at UFC 305? Drop your comments below.