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Chapter 314 - 285: Old Rival, The Undefeated Legend

Chapter 314: Chapter 285: Old Rival, The Undefeated Legend

UFC rankings are determined by a dozen professional media outlets, which form a voting panel to rate fighters. Each rank comes with a score, and the final rankings are then calculated to produce a list.

In theory, after Wu Li defeated Dan Hu, who was the sixth in the lightweight ranks, and did so with ease, he should be at least in sixth place, taking Dan Hu’s spot, or even higher. Therefore, many people predicted that Wu Li might break into the top five.

But the latest rankings surprised many: Wu Li placed seventh, with Dan Hu, whom he had defeated, still at sixth. Charles, who had previously held seventh place, was pushed down to eighth.

"This ranking feels like Dana White is deliberately knocking you down," Chen Gang said to Wu Li.

Wu Li nodded. He had just refused Dana White, and right after that, his ranking was released, making him feel there was a deliberate intention.

Traditionally, only fighters in the top five of UFC’s weight classes qualify to challenge for a championship. This meant that if Wu Li’s ranking had made it into the top five, it would have been possible for his next match to be a title fight, a rapid pace that aligned with Wu Li’s expectations.

"He probably wants to use this as a way to tell me that if I don’t cooperate with him, it’s impossible for me to rise to the top of the UFC within a year or two," Wu Li said.

Chen Gang was somewhat worried, "After all, he’s the one arranging the fights. If he doesn’t set up some strong opponents for you, it will be hard for your ranking to climb."

Wu Li: "Let’s take it one step at a time."

...

Chen Gang’s concerns soon became reality, as that afternoon, news about Wu Li’s next opponent surfaced on the official UFC website and on ESPN:

"Charles: I’ve always wanted to have an official fight with him!"

"Squeezed out of the rankings, Charles strongly declares his desire for revenge!"

"From TUF to UFC, from student to coach to rival."

...

Recently, Wu Li’s popularity had been soaring, and discussions about his second UFC fight were endless. After the release of his rankings, the sudden introduction of Charles as his next opponent seemed unexpected, yet also made sense.

The feud between Wu Li and Charles started back in TUF, with a final agreement to settle things through an unprecedented real combat match.

Originally, according to Dana White’s expectations, even if Wu Li won this real combat match, it wouldn’t really prove much. Wu Li’s fame could advance further, and Charles wouldn’t suffer much damage.

However, the subsequent development took everyone by surprise. Charles’s cowardly behavior when faced with a threat disappointed everyone, and in stark contrast stood Wu Li.

Thus, an unexpected event elevated Wu Li’s image to heroic proportions, while Charles plunged to rock bottom. Wu Li was as glorified as Charles was now desolate.

Such a person should not, in theory, appear in the ring with Wu Li again, but UFC officials intended to make this arrangement and began to build momentum.

...

On January 8th, Charles held a personal press conference.

Under the spotlight, Charles sat at the interview table alone, with a host beside him.

"We can start with the questions," said the host, signaling a reporter to begin.

"Why do you want to fight Wu Li?" the first reporter asked.

Charles: "Back in TUF, when he was still a student, we had more than one conflict. Since then, I’ve really wanted to test myself against him in the ring!"

Reporter: "But actually, before this, you’ve already had many confrontations, and you were never on the winning side."

Indeed, having records broken, being knocked out in sparring, beaten in a real fight... Charles had actually lost many times before.

Charles’s expression turned fierce as he bit back, "But those were not official matches! He’s never beaten me in the ring!"

Reporter: "During the incident on September 22nd, your behavior disappointed many people. Do you have anything to say about that?"

Here it comes!

A spark of determination lit up in Charles. Since that day, he had disappeared from the internet, faced with a barrage of fans who berated him, and there was really nothing he could say in his defense. Today’s press conference was called in preparedness to face these questions.

"I admit, I was indeed frightened that day," Charles said earnestly. "I apologize to all my fans and to the mother and daughter."

After saying this, he stood up and bowed deeply toward the camera.

Then, sitting back down, he continued, "I don’t want to make excuses for myself, but it was truly the first time I’ve encountered such a situation. My first instinct was to preserve my own life; I may not have been brave enough, but I’m just a combat sports athlete, not a police officer, not a soldier."

In truth, Charles’s behavior that day, from a moral standpoint, wasn’t reprehensible; after all, clinging to life is a basic human instinct. He was merely afraid to lend a helping hand and did not actively harm anyone or do anything else. Nevertheless, Wu Li’s subsequent actions shone so brightly by contrast that they magnified Charles’s cowardice manyfold, leading to public criticism.

Reporter: "You were there that day and witnessed Wu Li’s performance firsthand. Do you still think you can compete with him?"

Charles: "Just like Wu once said, ’The ring and real combat are different.’ I have to admit that he does have some impressive skills in actual combat. But the ring is my domain, I’ve been fighting in the UFC for five years and have fought dozens of matches. In this respect, Wu is the rookie, and I am confident I can defeat him!"

Reporter: "Dan Hu, who was ranked above you, was easily KO’d by Wu. What do you make of that?"

Charles: "Actually, anyone who watched the fight knows that in the last minute, Dan Hu was completely dazed and didn’t know how to fight back. That’s because he was careless. He didn’t understand Wu well enough, and he wasn’t prepared, so that’s what happened. But I am different. Of all the fighters in the UFC, I am the one who knows Wu the best. I have made enough preparation to face him. This time, I will definitely win!"

...

The video of Charles’s press conference ignited heated discussion online that evening; while his words did little to recuperate his personal image, they successfully piqued the audience’s curiosity about the match.

Personal vendettas, match revenges—these are the storylines the audience loves to watch and what the UFC loves to hype.

Had it not been for the unexpected event on September 22, in Dana White’s original plan, Wu and Charles’s rivalry would have been hyped for a longer period. Wu would have gone from a UFC newcomer to a rising star with improving records and eventually faced Charles as a challenger. With sufficient buildup and hype, Dana White believed the fight would attract a lot of attention.

However, after the incident on September 22, Charles’s reputation was thoroughly tarnished, and Wu’s rise exceeded Dana White’s expectations. So, Charles was essentially abandoned, and if it wasn’t for Wu’s refusal to sign with William, Dana White would not have promoted him again.

On January 9, Wu accepted the challenge from Charles during an interview with reporters, and thus their match was set to proceed, just waiting for the official confirmation of the date.

Wu entered his preparatory period once again, and as for Seeking Martial Arts, because Sun Yiquan wasn’t suitable to be the main character this time, that had to be put on hold. Wu asked Li San to help contact other experts from Hongmen to see if a suitable candidate could be found.

On January 11, the UFC announced the schedule for the latest event, UFC 255 set for January 27. The headline fight of the event was the Middleweight championship challenge match, with the UFC legend Spider Silva facing his 11th title defense. With such a legend in the competition, it was natural that Wu and Charles’s fight couldn’t be the focal point and was instead listed as the co-main event.

At 9 a.m. on January 26, the UFC 255 weigh-in ceremony took place.

Like last time, Wu, dressed in the exclusive Martial Arts Uniform from Bo Yuan Martial Arts Hall, stepped on the electronic scale and passed the weigh-in.

Many Chinese fans came to the venue again this time, specifically to see Wu, including the male and female college students from the last event.

The two have now confirmed their relationship and are in the heat of romance.

They met because of Wu and grew closer because of him as well, naturally holding a great affinity for Wu. They also made plans to come to the weigh-in together to see him.

"Hey, why did Wu step down so quickly?" the girl with the ponytail asked with dissatisfaction.

The young man, holding his girlfriend’s hand, laughed, "This time Wu’s match isn’t the headline event, so he won’t be staying till the last for the weigh-in, and he’s not in the final stare-down either."

"Ah?" The girl with the ponytail was a bit disappointed. "Wu’s so famous now, and he’s not the headline match? Is there someone more famous than him?"

The young man: "It’s not about fame; he’s really one of those rare, incredibly legendary fighters."

The girl with the ponytail glared at her boyfriend: "Quit being cheap with words."

The young man laughed: "I’m serious, you’ll see when you watch his fight."

In the middle of their conversation, the venue suddenly erupted like a tidal wave of noise as a dark-skinned, somewhat shiny, tall man with long limbs and well-defined muscles walked onto the stage.

"Silva!"

"Silva!"

"Silva!"

The venue was in an uproar, almost everyone shouting the name of the figure.

The girl with the ponytail was somewhat astonished: "Is this guy really that good?"

The young man also looked excited and nodded vigorously: "Of course! He’s the ’oldest’ UFC legend, already 39 years old this year!"

The girl with the ponytail was surprised: "He can still fight at 39?"

The young man nodded: "Yes! And although he’s the oldest legend, he’s also the unyielding legend; no one has been able to defeat him to date!"

The girl with the ponytail looked at Silva on the stage: "Do you think Wu can defeat him?"

The young man paused for a moment, somewhat unsure: "Wu and he aren’t in the same weight class; theoretically, it would be difficult for them to fight."

"Just tell me, can he or can’t he?" the young lady pressed.

The young man smiled wryly; Silva was his idol for many years, and emotionally speaking, he didn’t think even Wu could defeat Silva. But facing his girlfriend’s questioning, he could only grit his teeth and assertively say:

"He can, definitely!"

PS: The update time is at 11:30 p.m. every day. Ten minutes before that time, I will release a Chapter to prevent piracy. Those following the updates can click in after 11:30 p.m., by which time the content will have already been amended.