Daniel Rodriguez is up for running it back with Li Jingliang following his hotly-debated split decision win over the Chinese star at UFC 279 last weekend. Even Dana White thinks the judges got it wrong and the American is clearly feeling maligned.
Rodriguez outweighed Jingliang by nearly 10lbs after a last minute reshuffle that saw his original opponent matched with Khamzat Chimaev instead. Meanwhile the Chinese fighter had been scheduled to take on Tony Ferguson but he found himself fighting Nate Diaz in the main event.
The set of circumstances surrounding Rodriguez’s split decision win was unusual to say the least and he thinks the fairest thing would be to run it back:
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Short and sweet
The message from Rodriguez was short and sweet. He tagged both Jingliang and the UFC president and wrote that,
“Everyone talking shit saying I lost! Let’s rematch!”
Jingliang has been winning new fans across the board over the past week. The Chinese fighter was uncharacteristically outspoken when he appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour sporting a t-shirt with the word ‘robbed’ emblazoned across it,
“Of course I think I won the fight. I won the fight. When Bruce Buffer declared a result, I couldn’t believe that. I couldn’t believe that. It’s already an awful matchup, and the result was worse. And I think it (is) just injustice. I can accept a loss, that’s fine. But please tell me why, why I lost the fight. Please, the three judges, tell me why you think I lost the fight. Tell me. Explain to me, please.”
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Major loser
Jingliang was probably the major loser in the last minute reshuffle. He was a strong favourite against original opponent Ferguson but came into his contest against the much bigger Rodriguez as an underdog.
On the MMA Hour he admitted he would much rather have fought either Ferguson or Diaz who both made the welterweight limit just like him,
“I made weight. Tony made weight. Why don’t (they) let us fight? It’s not our fault. So why? Tony fought Nate as the main event, why don’t they let me fight Nate? It’s unfair. I cannot accept that,” he said.
Jingliang says that his only option was to fight Rodriguez who had weighed in at 180lbs,
“The only option I have at that time (was Rodriguez). I did everything I should do. I made weight and was ready for the fight. But they missed weight, they fought backstage. So why did they (make) me take this responsibility and change my opponent? I don’t think it’s fair.”
No bonus
He also downplayed suggestions that the UFC had compensated him with a financial package,
“Some fans mentioned that I took this fight (and) the UFC may pay me a huge amount of extra money. But the case was not like that,” he said.
The only thing Jingliang got, apart from a loss on his record, was a vague promise that he would get to compete in the main event or co-main event again at some stage,
“Dana just called me before the fight and said he owed me a main event or a co-main event. He didn’t say an exact time when and where, but I need that. I think I need the opportunity, the bigger stage to show myself.”
Whether it would be on a pay per view card is another question entirely. But if the UFC head honcho does keep his word than he could do a lot worse than hand him a rematch with Rodriguez at the correct weight class.
