Mokaev: UFC Wasted Two Years Of My Life — SkimNews
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- Muhammad Mokaev was released by the UFC in July 2024 after stretching his winning streak to seven fights with a unanimous decision over Manuel Kape at UFC 304 in Manchester, with president Dana White announcing the non-renewal that same night.
- Mokaev says the UFC texted his manager after his second UFC fight against Charles Johnson telling him 'he needs to stop wrestling — we don't want these decision guy,' and he believes that wrestling-heavy style — not behaviour — drove his exit despite a roughly 60% finish rate (four of seven) in the promotion.
- Since leaving the UFC, Mokaev has fought eight times in two years, capturing titles in BRAVE CF and ACBJJ and finishing opponents with chokes, body kicks, head kicks and punches, while remaining in a WhatsApp group with UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell.
- Mokaev rejected a $10,000 (£7,399) offer to compete in UFC BJJ against five-time world bantamweight champion Mikey Musumeci — calling the fee 'deeply insulting' — after the UFC declined to attach a re-signing contract to the appearance.
- Mokaev says he would consider a PFL bantamweight deal if the promotion creates a 125-pound division following its July merger with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions; he has been signing only one-fight contracts in the meantime.
- Mokaev's seven-fight UFC streak is exceeded only by Demetrious Johnson (13) and Alexandre Pantoja (eight), and the flyweight title he once seemed destined to challenge now belongs to Joshua Van, the first UFC champion born in the 2000s.
Why it matters: Mokaev's exclusion from the UFC despite the third-longest winning streak in flyweight history — and the UFC's own post-fight text urging him to abandon wrestling — shows that promotional style preferences can override a 7-0 UFC record, leaving a 26-year-old in his prime fighting in BRAVE CF and ACBJJ while Joshua Van holds the title Mokaev seemed destined to chase.
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