LONDON – Jake Hadley made sure to point out that he had a better performance against Malcolm Gordon than Muhammad Mokaev did.
Hadley (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) needed just 61 seconds to TKO Gordon on Saturday’s UFC 286 prelims at The O2. Mokaev had to battle through some adversity before he submitted Gordon late at UFC 280.
Hadley has been calling Mokaev out for years. He’d love to fight him next, but is setting his eyes on the rankings, regardless.
“I finished him quicker than Mokaev finished him,” Hadley said at the UFC 286 post-fight news conference. “It was life or death work for Mokaev. So he can say what he wants, but I think (Allan) Nascimento would absolutely destroy Mokaev – finish him in the first round. I’ve learned a lot since (I lost to Nascimento). I’ve grown. I’ve gotten better.
“Mokaev’s been turning the fight down for about seven, eight years, but he said he wants to fight me in the back, in the streets and stuff like an idiot. Hopefully that fight can happen one day, but probably not. Hopefully I can get a top-15 opponent next or crack the top-15 rankings.”
Mokaev also was victorious Saturday. The 22-year-old remained unbeaten when he fended off a late kneebar attempt from Jafel Filho, took his back and submitted him in the third round.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
