“I grabbed Khamzat” – Li Jingliang stopped Khamzat Chimaev from going rogue during backstage BRAWL at UFC 279

Li Jingliang has been an absolute hero the entire UFC 279 fight week. The fighter was shown a lot of love for “saving” the UFC 279 card but little did we know the Leech was also the reason Khamzat Chimaev didn’t go fully insane backstage during the infamous brawl.

UFC 279 was a complete “sh*tshow” as the UFC boss Dana White himself called it. Khamzat Chimaev, Kevin Holland, and Nate Diaz’s entire crew in the same place were asking for chaos to take place. Surely enough, a war broke out backstage and all three parties were involved in it. Khamzat and Kevin were the first to get physical and according to many who were there during this incident, “Borz” went completely insane.

Thanks to Li Jingliang in his amazing suit, Chimaev did not go completely insane and do something that would have put the event in jeopardy. In a recent interview after his loss at UFC 279, Li talks to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour show and explains what actually went down behind the scenes.

According to the Leech, it was Holland who first drew blood by pushing Chimaev. This led to the Chechen kicking Kevin in the chest and then all hell broke loose. “Kevin felt he was a little bit aggressive and then he just pushed him [Khamzat]. Khamzat went backwards and came back with a kick at Holland,” said Jingliang on the MMA Hour through a translator.

Related: WATCH: Kevin Holland CALLS OUT Khamzat Chimaev with a FIERY one-liner

“Not today, bro” – Li Jingliang’s words to Khamzat Chimaev when the “Borz” was ready to fight backstage

Khamzat and Li Jingliang built a very good relationship after their fight against each other. The “Borz” and the Leech showed love and respect to each other at the UFC Performance Institute gym leading up to UFC 279. Khamzat’s respect for Jingliang might have been one of the reasons why Chimaev respected the Chinese fighter’s words during the brawl.

“Everybody was shocked. I just grabbed Khamzat, I held him and I separated them and I told Khamzat, ‘Not today, Not today, bro. Not today,” said the Leech talking to Helwani on the show. This card ended up changing the entire pay-per-view event and also Li’s weekend.

Also read: “Pay Him 10 Million” Li Jingliang applauded by fans despite controversial decision loss at UFC 279

From what was going to be an amazing fight for Jingliang with his dapper suit at the press conference, to his iconic matchup against legendary Tony Ferguson, Jingliang ended up sacrificing all of this because of the backstage brawl. The Leech was the one who was truly affected by all of this.

Also read: Li Jingliang prevents apocalypse as he stops Tony Ferguson from tripping over wires before UFC 279

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