Muhammad Mokaev is the best, least wanted fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA) right now.
The 24-year-old Flyweight has been perfect in his career thus far, winning 13 of his 14 fights with the lone asterisk coming in the form of a no-contest before his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) arrival in March 2022. Unfortunately for Mokaev, a unanimous decision win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 was not his ticket to a UFC title fight as he hoped. Instead, it was Mokaev’s last with his contract expiring and UFC CEO, Dana White, immediately declining to negotiate and re-sign him.
The decision had many in the MMA community scratching their heads while others agreed with the choice because of a difference in entertainment levels. Former UFC Bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, isn’t among the latter.
“If you ask me, I think it’s f*cked up,” Sterling told The MMA Hour. “I don’t think there was any real reason to cut him. You can say the piggybacking of the fight at the P.I., but that takes two to tango.
“I know Mokaev was the first one to talk sh*t,” he continued. “Manel told him, ‘When you see me, keep that same energy.’ He saw him, tried to apologize, but Manel told him to keep that same energy, they had a fight or whatever happened, the scuffle. Fast forward, they had a fight again … and then we saw what happened at the hotel, which is kind of odd to put your arm around someone to take a picture and then sucker-punch them. I think that’s a little bit too low for me. I think that one was very, very dirty.
“Then they fought the way that they fought, which was unfortunate because the whole toe thing with Manel in that fight,” Sterling concluded. “Then you’ve got one guy who is undefeated, gets cut, it’s weird.”
As clarified, Mokaev wasn’t released but simply fought out his contract and had negotiations closed. Ultimately, Sterling’s point still stands as Mokaev is an undeniable top talent at 125 pounds.
Mokaev likely won’t be back too soon, but anything is possible if he goes out and shines with enough good performances elsewhere.
“You’ve kind of got to just do what’s best for you,” Sterling said. “Mokaev is [24] years old. It’s unfortunate that he got cut for that. I don’t think that was necessary. He more than deserved another chance and I think if he goes on the regional circuit and wins one fight, or if they just bring him back right away, it gets odd.”
Sterling, 35, will make his second appearance in the Featherweight division when he battles the undefeated 18-0 contender, Movsar Evloev, at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, 2024.