A pair of welterweight finishers are set to clash at UFC on ESPN+ 15 in Shenzhen, China.
Li Jingliang will take on the streaking Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on Aug. 31 at the Shenzhen Universade Sports Centre Arena.
MMA Junkie verified with a person with knowledge of the deal that verbal agreements are in place following an initial report from Combate. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
Dos Santos (21-5 MMA, 7-1 UFC), and honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA welterweight rankings, has won his last seven in a row and has been long awaiting a ranked opponent. Despite the UFC officially announcing a fight between dos Santos and Neil Magny for the UFC Rochester card in May, dos Santos denied ever being offered the fight.
He is coming off a dominant first round submission win over Curtis Millender at UFC on ESPN+ 4 in Wichita, Kansas, and will look to continue his ascent up the welterweight ranks.
Jingliang (16-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC), was scheduled to take on dos Santos at the UFC Beijing card in November 2018 but ended up taking on newcomer David Zawada after “Capoeira” was forced out due to a partial ligament tear in his right knee. Jingliang stopped Zawada with a vicious body shot in the third round, and will get another opportunity to face dos Santos, also in his home country of China.
With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 15 lineup includes:
- Champ Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang – for strawweight title
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Jun Yong Park
- Mark De La Rosa vs. Kai Kara-France
- Li Jingliang vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 15, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
