"Tibetan Eagle" Su Mudaerji of China bagged a unanimous decision win (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) over Uzbek-American Zarrukh Adashev during a flyweight bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Island 8 event on Wednesday evening in Abu Dhabi's Yas Island, giving himself a 25th birthday present.
The judge raises Chinese Su Mudaerji's hand to announce his win in the match against Uzbek-American Zarrukh Adashev during a flyweight bout in UFC Fight Island 8 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2021. /UFC
The judge raises Chinese Su Mudaerji's hand to announce his win in the match against Uzbek-American Zarrukh Adashev during a flyweight bout in UFC Fight Island 8 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2021. /UFC
After having decided to substitute for Adashev's original rival Jeffrey Molina 20 days before this bout, Su got a third straight win in a total of four UFC matches. It has been only 53 days since his last fight in Las Vegas, where he finished Malcom Gordon in 44 seconds.
Chinese fighter Su Mudaerji's portrait during the UFC Fight Island 8 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, January 16, 2021. /UFC
Chinese fighter Su Mudaerji's portrait during the UFC Fight Island 8 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, January 16, 2021. /UFC
Missing out on the weight-in and being knocked out in 32 seconds by Tyson Nam in June, the 28-year-old kickboxing champion Adashev was seeking a good performance in his second UFC contest.
Despite being much shorter than Su, Adashev punched the Chinese to stagger for several times at the beginning of the match.
Chinese Su Mudaerji punches Uzbek-American Zarrukh Adashev during a flyweight bout in UFC Fight Island 8 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2021. /UFC
Chinese Su Mudaerji punches Uzbek-American Zarrukh Adashev during a flyweight bout in UFC Fight Island 8 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, January 20, 2021. /UFC
But quickly, Su found a safe distance and controlled Adashev with his lead leg while launching many spinning elbows and spinning kicks to make for a spectacular performance.
As a sanda-type fighter, Su made good improvements this time around in takedown defending, however, he said in a post-match interview that he was not satisfied after the fight, as he said he had prepared some tactics he didn't use during the match.