Li Jingliang, who has a record of 19-8-0 in MMA, has had a unique journey in combat sports. Also known as ‘The Leech’, the 170 lbs Orthodox UFC athlete has had several iconic wins inside the promotion. The Chinese mixed martial artist is a fan-favorite welterweight knockout artist and was surprisingly not even interested in MMA growing up! However, now, he not only loves UFC and Bruce Lee but also his wife and children. Where other fighters jump from the cage to taunt their opponents, he does that out of sheer love and runs to his wife after winning a fight.

He might not have wanted to take MMA seriously at first, but his dedication has paid off and instead of becoming a farmer, today he is a famous UFC fighter. Apart from that, he is a loving husband and father, so let’s learn more about the 36-year-old.

Meet Li Jingliang’s wife and daughter

He loves sharing his achievements with his wife and daughter and there has been more than one instance where his family was present during his fight. Following his UFC Fight Night 122 win over Zak, he spoke to the MMA junkie about his achievement and how he ran to his wife and daughter after winning the fight. He said, “I hadn’t thought about that in my mind, so it wasn’t planned. But I was just too excited, and I wanted to share that joy with my wife. So that’s what happened.”

As per reports, there is no information about his wife or daughter’s name. However, there is a lot of evidence of how much he loves his family. He uploads pictures and videos of his daughter and wife on his Instagram very often. He even has a son who the couple welcomed some time back, and he shares pictures with his little man as well.

When he won at UFC Fight Night 122, Li dropped his opponent with a straight right hand and then followed with multiple punches to seal the win. As soon as the victory was announced in front of his home crowd in Shanghai, he immediately made a beeline for the cage. However, this was not just a normal celebration of the victory, it was out of love.

He sprinted toward his wife and daughter and hugged them tightly. However, his career was not without setbacks because, during UFC 287, he had to withdraw. After all, he had a spine injury. However, now he is back for UFC 305 after the 23-month hiatus and surely his family is again going to be by his side supporting him.

His daughter is still probably 5 or 6 years old and he uploaded an adorable Instagram video where he was teaching his daughter how to fight. ‘The Leech’ has one primary goal which is to influence people who need help, just like he was influenced by veterans like Bruce Lee. Interestingly, combat sports was not his first choice and his life changed drastically thanks to his parents.

Li Jingliang’s early life and background

Originally from a small town near Tacheng in the Xinjiang UAR of Northwest China, Jingliang competed in Chinese wrestling and trained in Sanda before moving to Beijing in 2008 to pursue a professional mixed martial arts career. He began training under the tutelage of former UFC Lightweight Zhang Tiequan. However, wrestling or martial arts were not his first choice. The fighter, who was inspired by Bruce Lee, could have had a very different life because, as a young man growing up in a small village in China, he expected to become a farmer.

It was because of his parents that he pursued martial arts. His parents listened to the coach, who had taken a keen eye for his wrestling skills and coaxed him into combat sports. He has spoken about his family and childhood in an interview with UFC. In his own words, he narrated how he was born into a rural family and loved the countryside.

The 36-year-old’s parents were farmers and always took him to work in the fields when he was a child. Jingliang beautifully resonated the training of MMA with farming and said that he loved the process of farming and it was the same as training, strength, and condition training for him. He also has an elder brother, Tiequan, who got inspired by him when Li went to fight in his first bout at AOW 8.

By the time he was 16, he was doing marvelously and began to practice freestyle wrestling under the famous Bao Li Gao–a national Sanda champion. It was under his tutelage that he entered MMA and also participated in the Art of War Fighting Championship and Legend Fighting Championship. However, his journey was not easy because he had to defeat the ‘Jedi’ to get noticed by the veterans.

His big breakthrough happened in 2013 when he defeated New Zealand MMA fighter Luke “The Jedi” Jumeau and one gold in the welterweight category. Bruce Lee’s fighting styles and philosophies changed the way that Li Jingliang viewed fighting as an MMA athlete.  What do you think about the journey of Li Jingliang? Tell us in the comments below.