Li Jingliang has dealt a serious blow to his career. The Chinese fighter shared the heartbreaking news of withdrawing from UFC 287 against Michael Chiesa. The reason cited by the UFC Welterweight was a spine injury. This was an important fight for Jingliang as he came off a controversial loss. The Chinese fighter was looking to climb up the rankings with a win against Chiesa.
However, the UFC Welterweight has provided a major update on his injury and what he went through. Jingliang shared the possible recovery options that are available to him.
Li Jingliang provides the reasons for his injury
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The UFC Welterweight took to Instagram to provide an update for the fans. ‘The Leech’ is struggling with cervical radiculopathy and is under treatment. He said, “As many of you already know, I injured my spine during fight camp and was forced to withdraw from my fight against Michael Chiesa at UFC 287.”
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Furthermore, Jingliang added, “The injury was an accumulated effect from all the rigorous training that I had put my body through in the past several months especially all the extra BJJ and wrestling work I put in to prepare for beating a submission artist… no amount of physical therapy or ibuprofen was able to fix the problem.”
Li Jingliang admits to keeping surgery as an option
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‘The Leech’ has admitted to the seriousness of the problem. The UFC Welterweight said that he had been pushing his limits and the doctors have advised him against it. Jingliang also stated that he is advised to take some rest and re-evaluate his future.
Jingliang explained, “I’m recovering and getting better, they will reevaluate my progress in the near future and decide on the next steps for my treatment plan. A spine surgery is not completely out of the question, but I hope to let it heal organically with the help from medical professionals so I can come back sooner.”
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It remains to be seen when ‘The Leech’ will grace the octagon. However, we wish him a speedy recovery. Let us know what you think about the injury.