Introduction
Su Mudaerji (ch: 苏木达尔基 tb: བསོད་ནམས་དར་རྒྱས།, born January 20, 1996), sometimes written as Sumudaerji or Sonam Darjee is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC flyweight rankings.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
In his childhood, Sumudaerji used to herd cattle in the mountains. He was born with a passion for sports. When he was 14 years old, Sumudaerji joined the well-known Enbo Fight Club in China. He started practicing Sanda in 2010 and won the second place in the Sichuan Youth Sanda Championship. From 2014 to 2015, he was selected to study in the Sichuan Sanda team and then transitioned into MMA. Starting his career in 2016, Mudaerji fought mostly for the Wu Lin Feng promotion, compiling an 11–3 record.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Mudaerji made his UFC debut against Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night 141 on November 24, 2018. He lost the fight via submission in round two.
Mudaerji next faced Andre Soukhamthath on August 31, 2019, on UFC Fight Night 157. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Mudaerji faced Malcolm Gordon on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark. He won the fight via knockout in round one. He earned a Performance of the Night bonus for the win.
Replacing Jeff Molina, Mudaerji faced Zarrukh Adashev on January 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 20. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Mudaerji was scheduled to face Tim Elliott on June 26, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 190. However, Mudaerji pulled out due to a knee injury.
Mudaerji was scheduled to face Manel Kape on April 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 205. However, just three days before the event, Kape withdrew due to personal reasons and the bout was scrapped.
Mudaerji faced Matt Schnell on July 16, 2022, at UFC on ABC 3. Despite a triangle attempt in the first round, Mudaerji lost the bout via technical submission due to a triangle choke in the second round. This win earned both fighters the Fight of the Night bonus award.
Personal life
Mudaerji is the first UFC fighter of Tibetan ethnicity.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Malcolm Gordon
- Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Matt Schnell
Sanda
- 2010 Sichuan Junior Sanda Championship − 2nd place
Mixed martial arts record
| 21 matches | 16 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 13 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 5 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 16–5 | Matt Schnell | Technical Submission (triangle choke) | UFC on ABC: Ortega vs. Rodríguez | July 16, 2022 | 2 | 4:24 | Elmont, New York, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16–4 | Zarrukh Adashev | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny | January 20, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 15–4 | Malcolm Gordon | KO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark | November 28, 2020 | 1 | 0:44 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Flyweight. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 14–4 | Andre Soukhamthath | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Zhang | August 31, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Shenzhen, China | |
| Loss | 13–4 | Louis Smolka | Submission (armbar) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 | November 24, 2018 | 2 | 2:07 | Beijing, China | |
| Loss | 13–3 | Hao Bin Ma | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 28 | October 26, 2018 | 2 | 3:57 | Zhengzhou, China | Flyweight bout. |
| Win | 13–2 | Yusei Saiton | KO (punches) | ABA Fighting Championship: Hongyuan | August 2, 2018 | 1 | 0:53 | Hongyuan County, China | |
| Win | 12–2 | Temirulan Bamadaliev | TKO (punches) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 25 | June 27, 2018 | 1 | 2:14 | Zhengzhou, China | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 11–2 | Zelimkhan Makaev | KO (spinning back kick) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 23 | April 14, 2018 | 1 | 4:01 | Zhengzhou, China | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 10–2 | Bidzina Gavashelishvili | KO (flying knee) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 22 | March 17, 2018 | 1 | 2:36 | Kaifeng, China | Catchweight (128 lb) bout. |
| Loss | 9–2 | Abdulla Aliev | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 21 | January 13, 2018 | 3 | 3:16 | Zhengzhou, China | For the vacant WLF Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–1 | Kirill | KO (punch to the body) | IPFC: YunFeng Showdown 7 | November 25, 2017 | 1 | 3:19 | Laizhou, China | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 8–1 | Ryota Kobayashi | TKO (punches) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 18 | October 28, 2017 | 1 | 1:19 | Maerkang, China | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 7–1 | Jomar Manlangit | KO (punch to the body) | WLF: W.A.R.S. 17 | September 16, 2017 | 2 | 1:20 | Zhengzhou, China | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 6–1 | Pengshuai Liu | KO (punches) | Chin Woo Men: 2016-2017 Season, Stage 6 | April 7, 2017 | 1 | 4:28 | Guangzhou, China | |
| Win | 5–1 | Junye Gao | KO (punches) | WLF World Championship | January 13, 2017 | 1 | 3:38 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Win | 4–1 | Teimur Ragimov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WLF: E.P.I.C. 8 | September 28, 2016 | 3 | 1:15 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Win | 3–1 | Isaias Celiva | TKO (doctor stoppage) | WLF: E.P.I.C. 5 | June 29, 2016 | 2 | 5:00 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Win | 2–1 | Leonid Malozemov | KO (head kick) | WLF: E.P.I.C. 3 | April 23, 2016 | 2 | 0:06 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Yusuke Uehara | Submission (straight armbar) | WLF: E.P.I.C. 2 | March 13, 2016 | 1 | 2:41 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Win | 1–0 | Seung Heon Lim | TKO (doctor stoppage) | WLF: E.P.I.C. 1 | January 13, 2016 | 1 | 2:44 | Zhengzhou, China | Flyweight debut. |