Muhammad Mokaev thought he was going to need the dreaded box of shame for official weigh ins earlier today (Fri,, July 26, 2024) for UFC 304 in Manchester, England, but Marc Ratner dished out a lightning-fast reading and kicked him off the scale.
In case you missed it, Mokaev has been in the news this week after his scuffle with UFC 304 opponent, Manel Kape, at the fighter hotel (video HERE). Kape believes the entire meeting was set up by Mokaev to attack, but details are still scarce at this time. This comes a few days after Mokaev’s ultra-important flyweight scrap with Kape was bumped down to UFC 304’s early “Prelims” undercard.
On Friday, Mokaev nearly pulled off the trifecta of fight week incidents when he began to weigh in. The young flyweight contender signaled to Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, that he needed the box of shame. Ratner denied his request, told Mokaev to step on the scale anyways, and then issued a 126-pound reading within a split of a second. It didn’t seem like enough time for Ratner to get an accurate reading, especially knowing Mokaev’s concern about his own weight.
Check out the incident below and let us know what you think:
I’m glad Muhammad Mokaev made weight, but this interaction was interesting.
Mokaev asked for the box, but Marc Ratner insisted that he didn’t need it. Mokaev then made weight in just 0.2 seconds of being on the scale, even before the scale had settled. pic.twitter.com/6UapxiddSG
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) July 26, 2024
Mokaev, 23, has never missed weight before in his six-fight UFC career. The undefeated flyweight contender is hoping to score a huge win over Kape this weekend at UFC 304 to push his division record to 7-0 and put himself in title contention by end of the year.
Does he do it?
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 304 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 304 fight card and PPV lineup click here.