Muhammad Mokaev kept his undefeated 13-0 (1 no contest) record intact at UFC 304, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job this past weekend (July 27, 2024).
The top Flyweight contender revealed ahead of his grudge match with former RIZIN Bantamweight champion, Manel Kape, that their bout would be the last on his UFC contract. Ultimately, Mokaev’s unanimous decision victory wasn’t enough for the promotion to want to start new negotiations.
UFC CEO, Dana White, immediately shut down the idea of Mokaev returning to the promotion after the win, exclaiming that “PFL is going to get a great undefeated guy.” The comments and willingness from UFC’s boss to part ways with a surging 24-year-old top fighter caught many in the community off guard. White did allude to the many issues Mokaev presented in the lead up to the fight, such as the pre-fight scuffles with Kape, on top of its underwhelming nature.
According to multi-sport commentator, Ben Davis, there’s more to the story, says a longtime business partner close to Mokaev.
“Mokaev and his management team tried to check on what PFL would pay well before his last fight on the deal,” Davis’ source said in their screenshotted direct messages. “UFC got wind of this and considered it the last straw of why they weren’t going to re-sign. It’s why Dana mentioned, ‘PFL is getting a good undefeated guy.’
“Essentially, he was trying to use the number from PFL as leverage,” they concluded.
If Mokaev ends up signing with PFL, he’ll likely have to move up to the Bantamweight division as the promotion doesn’t currently have Flyweight. That’s unless they were to do singular bouts at 125 pounds just for the Manchester, England resident.