Muhammad Mokaev finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to change UFC CEO Dana White’s mind.
Mokaev fought out his UFC contract this past weekend at UFC 304, where he scored a lackluster win over rival Manel Kape. The bout had a lot of heat heading into UFC 304, including a hotel confrontation that got physical, but Mokaev and Kape failed to deliver on fight night.
Afterward, White alluded to “sh*t that happened behind the scenes” with Mokaev over “the past several months” – not his fighting style – as the primary reason why UFC matchmakers “don’t want to re-sign him.”
“I think the PFL is going to get a great undefeated guy,” White said.
Tuesday on X, Mokaev apologized for instigating the hotel brawl between his and Kape’s teams in Manchester.
This is first time I punched outside the cage, it was more personal
He was the one who head butted 5 days before Perez fight when I went to shake his hand in Vegas!
I understand, this is wrong what happen at the hotel and I apologise to the UFC, but there’s some nights I…— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) July 30, 2024
This is first time I punched outside the cage, it was more personal
He was the one who head butted 5 days before Perez fight when I went to shake his hand in Vegas!
I understand, this is wrong what happen at the hotel and I apologise to the UFC, but there’s some nights I didn’t sleep because someone treated me like that , I never been cheap shot on the streetsI will never let anyone bully me and I never bullied anyone, but whatever happened it happened, I don’t wanna keep going about it but I will take big lesson from it!
Adding to the drama is the fact that Mokaev’s apology came just a couple of hours after his manager, Tim Simpson, responded to an unsubstantiated report that White’s post-UFC 304 announcement was motivated by Simpson negotiating with the PFL while Mokaev was still under contract with the UFC, telling MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin it’s “completely false.”
It put Mokaev in a position to plead for his job publicly.
My dream is to become UFC Champion
I turn them all down because UFC gave me the platform to put my name out there and earn money to feed my family!
btw PFL don’t have flyweight division
All these journalists that make this shit up are idiots!I hope Dana resigns me, this… https://t.co/ArCTIF9Wwy
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) July 30, 2024
My dream is to become UFC Champion
I turn them all down because UFC gave me the platform to put my name out there and earn money to feed my family!
btw PFL don’t have flyweight division
All these journalists that make this shit up are idiots!I hope Dana resigns me, this is my dream to become champion!
Mokaev, 24, signed with the UFC in 2022, as a 5-0 professional and has continued to blossom with seven UFC victories to push his record to 12-0. He defeated Cody Durden, Charles Johnson, Malcolm Gordon, Jafel Filho, Tim Elliott, and Alex Perez prior to UFC 304 as he’s climbed up the rankings at 125 pounds toward a title shot that might never happen if White stays true to his word.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
