Becoming the youngest fighter on the roster, Muhammad Mokaev joins the UFC with an undefeated amateur and professional record. With his first bout signed for UFC London in March, we won’t have to wait long for the Dagestani’s debut.
A relatively unknown prospect to many fans, here’s 5 things you may not know about Muhammad Mokaev.
He hails from humble beginnings
Arriving in the UK as a refugee aged 12, it’s been an especially difficult journey for the Russian. Born in the now famed region of Dagestan, Mokaev developed his skills in the North-West of England after being smuggled in to the country with his father. While simultaneously having to deal with the passing of his mother, Mokaev spent a month in a refugee centre before being given a home in Wigan.
Speaking little to no English, he began life at ground zero, joining a Church of England school. Living on £36 a week, his father convinced him to begin wrestling training to prevent him joining in with the wrong crowd. After winning a few regional tournaments, Mokaev’s fighting career really got going.
He’s mixed with royalty
After his first amateur fight in 2015, he was followed on Instagram by His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Hamad al Khalifa – the fifth son of the fifth son of the King of Bahrain. Something of a scout for MMA talent in the Middle East, he told Mokaev to contact him if he ever needed anything. After forming his own MMA promotion, Brave CF, in 2016, the door was open for Mokaev to begin his professional career whenever he was ready.
Fast forward to 2019 and he found himself in a spot of bother. After missing his flight to the IMMAF World Championships in Bahrain, the Sheikh stepped in. Sending in his private Boeing jet, Mokaev flew out from London to begin a four week training camp at the Sheikh’s house.
His career so far has been very impressive
Similar to many fighters, Mokaev has begun his career out of the spotlight. So far undefeated, he’s shown impressive versatility in the cage. Able to finish the fight anywhere, he presents a skillset we rarely see from such young fighters. With four finishes and two decision wins, he’s demonstrated maturity and patience as well as a killer instinct. With comparisons to Khabib already being made, Mokaev’s got big shoes to fill; he’ll be hoping he won’t have to wait as long for his chance at the belt.
He’s looking to become the youngest ever UFC champ
Big adversity must come with big ambitions; aiming to become the youngest champion in UFC history, Mokaev is so far on the right path. Claiming the Light-Heavyweight strap in 2011, Jon Jones’ record as the youngest champ has stood for over a decade now. While many fighters have attempted to replicate success at such an early age, many believe Mokaev has all the skills to finally break this record.
However, ahead of him is a stacked flyweight division currently packed with some of the best talent we’ve ever seen at 125 pounds. If he can come through his debut in March in style, we may see him ranked before the end of the year.
He’s been causing a stir in the UFC already
With his debut chalked up for March, Mokaev has already been turning up the heat as he looks to build some hype. Following the blueprint for some of the most successful fighters of the modern era, Mokaev called out veteran, Cody Durden after he made some controversial comments.
After defeating Chinese prospect, Qileng Aori, Cody stated “I knew he was going to be tough but I had to send him back to China, where he came from”. This was met with boos both inside the arena and across social media. Mokaev will now surely have the entire community behind him with the hero vs villain narrative now firmly in place.
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