Skip to main content

UFC's Muhammad Mokaev frustrated with ranked opponents turning him down

Muhammad Mokaev’s struggle to draw ranked opposition continues.

Undefeated Mokaev is off to a 4-0 start to his UFC tenure and has aspirations of becoming the youngest champion in UFC history. The 22-year-old, who suffered a partial MCL tear in his win over Jafel Filho this past March, is hoping to either land on the London card in July or UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston.

Mokaev (10-0-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has been active, but his inability to get a ranked flyweight has slowed down his pursuit of gold, which has frustrated him greatly.

“It’s very, very hard at the moment,” Mokaev said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “When I wasn’t ranked, I beat Cody Durden in under 50 seconds and after that, I beat LFA champion Charles Johnson, Malcolm Gordon, Jafel Filho, who came out of Contender Series. These guys are older than me by 10 years. Now I’m ranked No. 12, and people don’t want to fight me, ranked guys. Now ranked guys are saying, ‘Go have one more fight,’ and then if I beat somebody else, they’re gonna say, ‘You’re still fighting unranked guys.’

Mokaev tried taking matters into his own hands my sending direct messages to Matt Schnell and Tim Elliott, who both have fights booked in June. Mokaev said both accepted if they come out of their fights unscathed, but he won’t count on it.

Mokaev has also publicly gone back-and-forth with Manel Kape and Brandon Royval, who’s currently the backup for the flyweight title fight between champion Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290 on July 8.

“Manel Kape, for example, he didn’t accept a fight against me,” Mokaev said. “He’s ranked No. 9, he’s 3-2 in the UFC, but he said, ‘You’re not on my level.’ What can I do if these guys don’t want to fight me. How can I not be his level if he lost to all ranked guys.”

When speaking about Royval, Mokaev compared their performances against common opponent Charles Johnson.

“Brandon Royval also said you’re not my level, but Charles Johnson actually went split decision against him,” Mokaev said. “I scored most takedowns in UFC flyweight history against Charles Johnson. It was 12 takedowns and I think 26 attempts, but Charles Johnson did eight takedowns on Brandon Royval. So, I believe I beat these guys, but they find some stupid excuse. If I’m that easy, if my cardio bad, my jiu-jitsu bad, why don’t you come and take a 34-fight winning streak hype away.”



from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/hkvrIdD
via IFTTT
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Sean Strickland: Israel Adesanya title fight '100 percent should be in the cards' with win over Abus Magomedov

Sean Strickland thinks a fight with Israel Adesanya is imminent if he can get past Abus Magomedov . Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) meets Magomedov (25-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) July 1 at a UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex. Strickland is one of the few top-ranked contenders to never face middleweight champion Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC), so he sees title implications with a win. “If this fight goes my way, it 100 percent should be in the cards,” Strickland told My MMA News . “I f*cking had a close decision with f*cking – what the f*ck was that guy’s name? Jared Cannonier, you knocked some brain cells out of me. Solid guy. Thought I won on the scorecards, but it is what it is. I truly believe I should be the one fighting Izzy, but I lost fair and square. I’ll pay my tenants. I’ll get some Ws, but yeah, that one needs to happen.” Strickland being matched up with Magomedov came as a surprise, considering Magomedov has only one octagon win. Strickland admits it’s not the fight he...
Read more

Max Griffin offended by booking against Michael Morales: 'They're sending a guy that they think can beat me'

LAS VEGAS – Max Griffin is not exactly happy with his matchup against Michael Morales . The 37-year-old welterweight veteran is set to take on Michael Morales on the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex. This booking made Griffin (19-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) feel like he’s been set up to be a stepping stone for Morales (14-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s unbeaten and just 24 years old – and that has Griffin fuming. “I have a thing for these new guys: I get offended,” Griffin told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 47 media day. “So it’s another guy, 14-0, fought Trevin Giles. That was a terrible fight from Trevin Giles. He beat him in the beginning but burned his arms out, getting sloppy, and got knocked out. … He (Morales) ain’t fought nobody. It’s not even about who y’all fought, but I am me. I am him. I’m not the guy you want to fight when you’re that raw, that new.” Although there’s something to be said about Morales’s promise and rise, Griffin is not getting caught in a ba...
Read more

UFC free fight: Amir Albazi clamps on rear-naked choke to tap Francisco Figueiredo in first

Amir Albazi showed off his finishing prowress at one of the biggest pay-per-view cards of 2022. At UFC 278 last August, Albazi made quick work of Francisco Figueiredo, winning the fight in the first round with a rear-naked choke submission. The victory was his third of three fights in the UFC, and his second first-round finish. You can watch Albazi’s fantastic performance against Figueiredo in the video above. Related UFC on ESPN 45 pre-event facts: Jim Miller can add to octagon wins record, be first to 25 Albazi returns to action Saturday for his first main event under the UFC banner at UFC on ESPN 45 . He takes on Kai Kara-France in a flyweight matchup. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and airs live on ESPN and ESPN+. Albazi (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will look to extend his current win streak to six straight. He enters Saturday’s main even on the heels of a third-round finish of Alessandro Costa in December. Kara-France (24-10 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will look to retur...
Read more