Tibetan flyweight Su Mudaerji has agreed to replace Jeff Molina against Zarrukh Adashev at UFC Fight Island 8 on Jan. 20, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting following a report from Instagram user bigpunches.
Mudaerji (13-4) went 2-0 in the octagon after dropping his UFC debut to Louis Smolka in 2018, earning a decision victory over Andre Soukhamthath and then a 44-second knockout against Malcolm Gordon. The latter earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus in November.
Adashev (3-2) joined the UFC after winning three in a row under the Bellator banner between 2018 and 2019, but came up short against Tyson Nam in his first appearance inside the eight-sided cage in Las Vegas, losing by knockout in just 32 seconds.
The UFC Fight Night card will now be headlined by a welterweight showdown between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny following the postponement of Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev.