This past Saturday night on the prelims of UFC 304, we saw what we thought was going to be a title eliminator in the flyweight division. Top contenders battled it out as the undefeated Muhammad Mokaev (12-0) took on the very dangerous Manel Kape (19-7).
There was a ton of bad blood between these two before the fight started. They got into an altercation at the UFC PI in Las Vegas after Mokaev sucker-punched Kape after the two took a photo together. There was an altercation at the hotel the week of the fight and they couldn’t even do a weigh-in face off because they tried to fight.
The UFC had extra security inside the octagon to prevent these two from fighting before the fight started. The actual fight itself was nothing to write home about. After all the pre-fight drama, the first round featured little action with neither man doing a ton of engaging.
Throughout the three rounds, Kape never fully pulled the trigger and Mokaev pulled away with some takedowns and a lot of volume strikes. The fight fell flat after all the buildup and Mokaev won the fight by decision. It moved him to 7-0 in the promotion which would in theory lead him to a title shot. However, after the night was over, we learned his time inside the octagon is done.
What’s next after UFC 304?
In his post-fight press conference, Mokaev said that the UFC expressed interest in not re-signing him ahead of his fight on Saturday. Apparently they aren’t massive fans of his style and his antics so they wanted to see how he would perform before offering him a new contract.
Ultimately, the decision was made to let him walk. Dana White said after the fights, “The match makers aren’t fans of his for a number of different reasons… I think the PFL is going to get a great undefeated guy.” In addition, John Morgan posted a memo that the UFC sent media members who do the rankings stating that Mokaev would be removed from the rankings because his contract is up and he wouldn’t be re-signed.
Now the question becomes, what’s next for Muhammad Mokaev? Well, the PFL is obviously the second biggest show in town but they don’t even have a flyweight division. There’s not even a flyweight division in the Bellator Champions Series which is run by the PFL. Of course, we don’t know what the plan is for next year or moving forward, but if Mokaev wants to go to the second biggest show in town, he’s likely going to have to move to 135.
The only option as a flyweight would be going to ONE Championship or RIZIN in Japan. Those options are certainly on the table, but I’m a little surprised by how everything shook out between the UFC and Mokaev. With Mokaev being an undefeated soon-to-be 24-year-old, I figured he’d be in the promotion for the long haul. However, that’s not the case.