Muhammad Mokaev is undoubtedly one of the most promising prospects in all of MMA right now.
The undefeated fighter is set to face Abdul Hussein on March 25th, at Brave CF 49.
Mokaev currently holds a 4-0 professional record. However, he also holds an extraordinary 23-0 amateur record, with wins over high-level opposition. Abdul Hussein will be Mokaev’s toughest test to date, with the Finnish flyweight holding 7 wins and only 1 loss on his record.
Mokaev recently took the time to sit down with LowKick MMA’s Frank Bonada, to discuss his upcoming fight, as well as his future in both Brave CF and the UFC.
Still only 20 years old, Mokaev has aspirations of becoming the youngest UFC champion of all time. Despite this, he still wishes to climb the rankings at Brave CF first. However, Mokaev see’s a UFC debut appearing in the not so distant future.
“This is my dream. There is a lot of money involved at the moment. With other organisations like Brave for example. But I’m not chasing money, I want to chase my dream. I want to chase my dream and I’ve got three and a half years to achieve this dream. So hopefully, maybe early next year you will see me there.”
Whilst Mokaev is currently focused on his career at Brave, he believes he is already at the level of the UFC flyweight elite.
When asked if he beleives he can stack up to the UFC elite, Mokaev had the following to say:
“Of course. Of course. I sparred, for example, with Jose Torres yesterday. Who was in the UFC. I’m not saying who won these rounds, but you maybe ask him. You can ask him… But sparring is sparring. Fighting is fighting. But you can ask him, can Mokaev be in top flyweight. I believe he will say yes. I spar with many guys around the world. I go to Tiger Muay-Thai a lot, and I see bantamweights. For example, I sparred with Petr Yan and these guys, and I believe I beat many top guys. Not even many, all of them.”
Mokaev also spoke about his upcoming fight with Hussein. Hussein will be Mokaev’s most experienced foe to date.
The young prospect does not believe that the Finn has the skillset required to best him. He stated the following:
“If you look at his record, I will be his toughest opponent. And I’ve had tougher opponents I believe. Yes, he did win world champions senior in IMMAF in 2016 in Las Vegas. And he has like 9-0 amateur. So it’s actually like similar careers. But the experience level is different. I did grapple with him in Tiger Muay-Thai in 2020. January actually. And he knows what’s up.”
“I believe I will stop him.”
Mokaev believes that his extensive amateur career, which saw him go on a 23 fight undefeated streak, has him better prepared than any other fighter in his division.
“In Brave, I’ve had good opponents so far. So I had 0-0, Glenn McVeigh. I had had Jamie Kelly, 3-0. And now we’ve got 7-1, so I’m always ahead. They have more experience in professional, but the amateur career behind me is way higher than them combined.“