Muhammad Mokaev is in a very strange place right now, career-wise. The 24 year old flyweight is 13-0 and has the potential to be a future champion. But it won’t be with the UFC, because they decided not to re-sign him after he fought out his contract at UFC 304.
Not only did they let him go, they buried him on the way out. Mokaev previously claimed UFC matchmakers had complained to him about his wrestling-heavy fighting style. But UFC CEO Dana White stated “It’s a lot more than just that,” when announcing Mokaev’s departure.
“The matchmakers aren’t big fans of his for many different reasons,” he said.
continued to nearly brawl at every opportunity for the next few days … only to have a terrible fight in the cage.
Was that the last straw for UFC management? Mokaev seems to think so. In a new interview with MMA Junkie he said he’d offered to fight for free to make amends.
“I said to Hunter Campbell, whatever I’ve done at the hotel, I’m ready to pay for that and fight my next fight in the UFC for free,” he said. “Whatever trouble I make, I think it’s unprofessional, but it’s something that was in my heart for a long time – I had to get rid of it. And I think I’ve taken a big lesson. I want to come back to UFC and hopefully I will be back.”
There were rumors that the real source of strife with Mokaev stemmed from him fielding offers from PFL. Mokaev denied any talks and suggested someone was passing false information to White.
“I think between Dana there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said. “I don’t know where he got this PFL talks … I think someone does something behind my back, it’s not going to come out of nowhere with PFL.
“I don’t even see competition between the PFL and UFC,” Mokaev added. “The UFC is the best organization in the world, and I never spoke to the PFL. They don’t even have a flyweight [division], so I don’t understand. Even at the post-fight interview, I asked for a new contract because I want to fight the best in the world.”
Mokaev was in Abu Dhabi to watch UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov, but there’s no hint that he’s managed to soften the UFC’s clearly negative opinion of him. That leaves him with few good options, which may be why he’s working so hard to make peace with his former promoter.
