Sumudaerji turned UFC Shanghai into an announcement evening, outlasting Alex Perez over 15 hard-fought minutes to lastly settle the rating with the previous flyweight title challenger.
The pair first squared off at UFC Macau in Could, however their assembly led to weird vogue after an unintended groin strike left Perez unable to proceed at 1:45 of the second spherical. The bout was subsequently ruled a no contest, setting the stage for Saturday’s rematch.
UFC Shanghai: Sumudaerji Fends Off Alex Perez’s Late Takedown Surge
Alex Perez seemed to dictate the tempo early, utilizing his motion to dart out and in whereas repeatedly altering ranges. He discovered success together with his wrestling within the first two rounds, taking Sumudaerji down and controlling him alongside the fence earlier than spending extra time on high within the second.
“The Tibetan Eagle” remained harmful at any time when the battle returned to the ft, utilizing his superior vary to land clear strikes and make Perez work to shut the gap. With the battle seemingly hanging within the stability heading into the third, Perez continued attempting to find takedowns.
That’s the place Sumudaerji made the distinction. The Chinese language flyweight defended Perez’s makes an attempt, battled for place within the clinch and prevented his opponent from establishing the management he had loved earlier. Perez managed one other late takedown try, however “The Tibetan Eagle” stayed composed via the ultimate minutes.
All three judges scored the competition 29-28 for Sumudaerji, giving him the unanimous choice and the most important win of his profession.
Sumudaerji improves to 20-7 professionally and 7-4 with one no contest within the UFC, whereas Perez drops to 26-11 total and 8-7 with one no contest contained in the Octagon.
