Su Mudaerji suffered a setback last weekend. The Tibetan flyweight saw his three fight winning streak snapped by Matt Schnell who submitted him late in the second round at UFC on ABC 3.
Mudaerji has been on the UFC roster since 2018 but has only fought five times for the promotion. He was returning after a layoff of nearly 18 months in which two separate fights fell through for different reasons.
But Mudaerji did pick up a $50,000 USD performance bonus for the part he played in what was clearly the fight of the night. Afterwards he pledged to ‘keep on grinding’:
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Power bomb
Mudaerji cracked the top 15 after his win at UFC Fight Island 7 last year wand would have been hoping to break into the top ten for the first time when he took on #8 ranked Schnell. He supposedly fought with a torn ACL but if he wasn’t able to perform to the peak of his powers he still looked extremely impressive.
In the opening round both men spent time in top position after trading punches and low kicks. The highlight was definitely Mudaerki power bombing his way out of an omoplata attempt which brought gasps from the crowd in Long Island.
In the second round Mudaerji started to pile the pressure on Schnell who simply could not cope with his opponent’s striking. Punches and elbows consistently connected and the Tibetan appeared to be on the verge of securing the stoppage win.
Power bomb by @Mudaerji_Su 💣
[ #UFCLongIsland | Main Card LIVE on @ABCNetwork ] pic.twitter.com/3l8QbCYpRt
— UFC (@ufc) July 16, 2022
Demoralizing defeat
The referee was taking a close look at Schnell who was clearly on wobbly legs and did not appear to be intelligently defending himself from the onslaught of punches, knees and elbows. But out of nowhere the American landed a right hand and all of a sudden it was Mudaerji who looked unsteady.
He continued to attack relentlessly but Schnell was able to time a right hand and take him down. From there he moved straight into mount and started to tee off on Mudaerji with the referee once again ready to step in and stop the fight.
The Chinese fighter was somehow able to escape and reverse the position only to get caught in a triangle choke. He refused to tap and was choke unconscious with Schnell claiming the win but both men taking credit for the part they played in the best round you are likely to see this year.
Having been away from the octagon for so long it must have been a demoralizing defeat for Mudaerji. But he has $50,000 USD for compensation, as well as the respect of MMA fans all over the world and the 26 year old has promised to ‘keep on grinding’.
