Flyweights Su Mudaerji and Kevin Borjas were the second fight in on Saturday’s UFC Shanghai main card, which came bright and early for western fight fans.
The event marked the first in mainland China for the UFC since prior to the coronavirus pandemic, with fans firmly behind “The Tibetan Eagle” Mudaerji.
Mudaerji attacked with kicks early, keeping Borjas on the outside at times, though there was a fair amount of feeling out and back-and-forth. Borjas, however, more often than not was playing the counter game. The action was briefly paused, as Su Mudaerji was warned for having his fingers outstretched.
Later in the round, Borjas would drive Mudaerji up against the fence. He could not, however, land a takedown. A bit of standup work closed out the frame.
Action was halted again early in round two, as Borjas was grazed by an eye poke. That led to a hard warning from the ref, but no point deduction. Action then resumed, over four minute still on the clock. They’d end up in a clinch again, Borjas ripped left hands to the body, pressing Mudaerji against the fence. Not for long, as Mudaerji broke free, heading back to center. As the round wore on, Mudaerji fired off a creative mix of kicks, and executed a spinning back fist late in the round, at least partially blocked but impressive nevertheless.
Mudaerji continued to land kicks to the body in round three, and defended a Borjas takedown attempt in the first half of the round. Borjas was able to pin “The Tibetan Eagle” against the fence, but couldn’t do anything with the position and soon had it taken away by the ref. Back at center, Mudaerji fired his left hand. Then a high kick. Borjas was almost certainly behind on the scorecards. Another takedown was fended off by Mudaerji around the final minute. In a clinch, Su Mudaerji landed a nasty elbow on Borjas, who dropped down briefly but scrambled away. Still, with his path to victory, wrestling, nullified, Borjas saw the fight slip away.
Official Result: Su Mudaerji def. Kevin Borjas by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
