The UFC’s January return to the “Mile High City” continues to fill up with the addition of a welterweight fight.
Li Jingliang (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is set to take on Yancy Medeiros (13-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) at UFC on FOX 23 in Colorado next month. UFC officials today announced the new matchup.
UFC on FOX 23 takes place Jan. 28 at Pepsi Center in Denver. The main card will air on FOX following prelims expected for FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
China’s Jingliang has alternated wins and losses over the course of his five fights in the UFC. He took a split call in his debut against David Michaud at UFC 173, but then dropped a split decision to Nordine Taleb his next time out. He rebounded with a first-round knockout of Dhiego Lima in the Philippines in May 2015, but then was put to sleep by Keita Nakamura in Japan in September 2015.
But in July, he got back on track in a big way when he knocked out Anton Zafir at the TUF 23 Finale in Las Vegas, giving him his second stoppage win in the UFC. Jingliang was supposed to return earlier this month at UFC 206 in Toronto, but an injury to Chad Laprise scrapped that fight.
Medeiros has been alternating wins and losses of late, as well. After a two-fight winning streak in 2014 that saw him take consecutive “Performance of the Night” bonuses for submissions of Damon Jackson and Joe Proctor, he was stopped in the first round by Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 68. He rebounded with a split decision over John Makdessi at UFC 194 a year ago, but in May dropped a “Fight of the Night” decision to Francisco Trinaldo in Brazil.
In September, Medeiros, from Hawaii, made the decision to go up from lightweight to welterweight. And at UFC 203 in Cleveland, he picked up another bonus with a second-round submission of Sean Spencer – giving him four bonuses in his past six fights.
With the addition, UFC on FOX 23 now includes:
For more on UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.
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