UFC 304 wrapped up this weekend in Manchester and it featured one of the most highly anticipated and personal fights of the night with Muhammad Mokaev taking on Manel Kape in the flyweight division. This fight was billed to be on the main card when announced however, it was moved to the early prelims suddenly and then when the card had started it was moved to the prelims. This was strange considering the title implications a fight of this magnitude could have especially for the hometown native in Mokaev who was undefeated and 6-0 in the UFC.

The personal nature of this fight starts in March of this year when Muhammad Mokaev took on Alex Perez in Las Vegas. 5 days prior to the fight, Mokaev and Kape had an altercation at the UFC Performance Institute where Kape headbutted and cut Mokaev which could have put the fight at risk. Mokaev has now said that his fighting style had changed in that fight dramatically as he was worried that he was going to open the cut in the fight which affected his performance regardless of the win. Fast forward now and Mokaev and Kape have been booked for UFC 304 in Manchester in front of the hometown crowd of Muhammad Mokaev. During fight week, Mokaev saw Kape and asked for a picture which after the picture Mokaev punched Kape stating that ‘no one could bully him.’ Alot of people in the MMA community frowned upon this decision by Mokaev but it was something he felt was neccesary to show dominance leading into the fight.

July 27th rolls around and Mokaev and Kape are about to fight when both were stopped by security from fighting with each other before the fight officially began which many thought would indicate that the fight was going to be a barn burner which unfortunately it was not. It was a good technical fight which Mokaev landing good kicks from range and trying to cut the high pressure moments from Manel with takedowns. He landed one takedown which caused more controversy as Mokaev used the shorts of Manel Kape to seek leverage which many thought a point should have been taken however, referee Mike Beltran gave Mokaev a stern warning. Mokaev ended up winning the fighting rather comfortably with a unanimous decision which not many could argue. After the fight, he took to the microphone and said how he wants the UFC to give him another contract due to his deal expiring and how he wants to fight for the title next.

This was seen as rather self explanatory, Mokaev is 7-0 in the UFC, faced multiple top 15 opponents and has never been in danger, of course he would be given another contract but no. UFC president Dana White said in his post fight press conference that ‘PFL will have a great undefeated fighter’ and that the ‘matchmakers don’t like him.’ This is awful from the UFC, Muhammad Mokaev is now 24 years old and is 7-0 in the UFC and does not get resigned. This completely negates the UFC’s claim to have the best fighters in the world when they are letting an undefeated prospect walk for no reason. Mokaev claimed the UFC also asked him to shoot for less takedowns which is also bad on the organisation’s part because this is MMA. Wrestling is a heavy aspect of the sport and majority of the greats in the sport are wrestling first fighters. Especially someone at such a young age, they can mature and adapt their skills as his career goes on which many fighters have done, such as the new welterweight champion Belal Muhammad who was out striking Leon Edwards.

So what now for Mokaev? He is still undefeated and was 7-0 in the UFC. Arguably the greatest amateur fighter the sport has ever seen and the hottest free agent prospect in the world. Muhammad is still focused on resigning with the UFC as he has said multiple times on social media and his manager Tim Simpson has also done the media rounds to clear up any rumours which may be false about the situation. PFL does not have a 125 or a 135 lbs division, only bellator does but I believe if Mokaev does not get a chance back in the UFC, he should try and fight Demetrius Johnson at One Championship.

Let us know what you think about this whole Muhammad Mokaev and UFC situation and do you believe the UFC should resign Mokaev or not?