What happened to Li Jingliang? How did the UFC star injure his spine?

Li Jingliang is all set to fight at UFC 305

Welterweight UFC competitor Li Jingliang was on a roll, setting incredible MMA records when an injury halted his momentum. By chance, the Chinese mixed martial artist who had no intention of becoming a combat sports athlete was dominating the UFC globe.

Unfortunately, like any star, he had to deal with a tragic occurrence. He was set to return against Michael Chiesa at UFC 287. Unfortunately, he was forced to withdraw from the battle due to a spinal injury.

‘The Leech’ was open about his physical status after withdrawing from the battle, even going on social media to discuss it. He disclosed that the spine injury occurred during the fight camp for UFC 287 and was the product of a series of accidents rather than a single one. The welterweight boxer posted a comprehensive account of what happened to him on Instagram, including X-rays.

Li Jingliang also shared a video detailing his medical diagnosis and what it means for his future. He said that the spine damage resulted from months of preparation before the battle. It worsened due to his further BJJ training as well as the wrestling effort he had to put in to overcome his opponent, who was skilled at submissions.

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A post shared by Li Jingliang The Leech (@lijingliangmma)

He further wrote, “I’d been waiting for too long for my moment since last year so I tried to power through it until I reached a point where the pain was worsening and expanding across my entire upper body; no amount of physical therapy or ibuprofen was able to fix the problem; and my fight preparation was completely stalled because of it. When the doctors explained to me how dangerous it would be for me to keep pushing my limits, I decided to wise up and take their advice to let my body heal.”

He was aware of his responsibilities to his fans and family, but he chose to set aside his ego and recover to return stronger. ‘The Leech’ is a household name in China, but he had to disappoint his admirers by revealing that he had a nerve compression that put pressure on his spine and that he needed an MRI as soon as possible. Li Jingliang was also open about what the physicians indicated.

Li Jingliang also claimed that his physicians advised him to get surgery, but he was concerned about it. Instead of having surgery, he wanted to discover another method to rehabilitate and mend his spine. He stated, “Doctors abroad may have recommended surgery. The doctor inside is a radiologist.”

It was also discovered that he had previously injured an identical part of his spine. He ultimately admitted that in 2018, he had a similar type of injury, which might have also been the cause of the second one. Because there was no adequate care for the initial injury, the same area was injured again, and the situation progressed. The same area was injured a second time as he began preparing for UFC 287.

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