Muhammad Mokaev set a UFC record for the most takedowns landed in a flyweight fight against Charles Johnson, but the Brit insists he wasn't satisfied with his performance.
Mokaev took Johnson down 12 times over the course of their 15-minute fight in which Mokaev won by a lop-sided decision, picking up his second UFC win and improving to 8-0 in the process. It wasn't the highlight-reel finish Mokaev had planned for having stopped Cody Durden in under a minute when he made his UFC debut in March and he recognised the fight was "boring" for most fans.
"It was ok, for the fans it was boring," Mokaev told Mirror Fighting . "I know I could have done better, but a win is a win. I think I could have finished him striking, but my corner told me, Listen, don't be like Mike Tyson just take him down' and I had to listen to my corner. If I could beat him in the wrestling aspect, why would I go to a 50-50 position in striking with small MMA gloves?.
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"It's not about who has the better striking it's about who get's clipped first, that's it, why would I risk that? I could have out-struck him, I was much more faster and powerful than him. I also didn't get tired, in between rounds I was waving to the fans. This was an easy sparring day, I've had harder sparring days than this."
Mokaev is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster and has also outlined his plan to become the youngest champion in UFC history. To do so, the Russian-born Brit will need to win the flyweight title before he turns 23 next July. Despite being just days on from his recent win, Mokaev is already back in training camp and wants to return at UFC 280 in October.
'The Punisher' has called out No.5 ranked flyweight Brandon Royval to fight him on the card, but Royval is yet to acknowledge his call-out. Mokaev admitted the lack of contenders willing to fight him has left him frustrated and he will still be willing to fight on October 22 even against an unranked flyweight.
"Yesterday I was a little bit angry about this," he added. "I just said give me whoever wants to fight me. I don't want to fight just once or twice a year, I'm already back in camp. A lot of people follow me and want to see me fight. I could go on holiday right now and relax for three or four months, but I want to stay busy."
