ABU DHABI – Muhammad Mokaev is grateful to finally draw a ranked opponent in the UFC.
Undefeated Mokaev has been willing to fight anyone, but he’s struggled to quickly climb up the flyweight ranks due to the lack of ranked opposition.
Mokaev (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) finally gets his wish when he takes on Tim Elliott (19-12-1 MMA, 8-10 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 294 featured prelim at Etihad Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+.
“I’m very happy,” Mokaev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “Even after my UFC debut, I called out top 15 and everyone said, ‘Who are you?’ But they know who I was. Only Tim Elliott said, ‘I’m ready to fight him. I don’t care.’ He was just injured, that’s why I had to fight somebody unranked. This camp was most interesting for me because I stayed focused, good opponent, and it motivated me.”
Both Mokaev and Elliott have had success dragging their opponents to the mat in their fights, but Mokaev sees a weakness in one particular aspect of Elliott’s grappling game.
“His grappling is good, but not like positional,” Mokaev said. “He can take somebody down, but his control is not really great. That’s why he has so many takedowns but not many finishes.”
Elliott, a former title challenger, is known for his “awkward” style. Mokaev doesn’t expect to have issues with it and thinks he’s just as tough of a puzzle to solve.
“He’s awkward to people who just stand, simple boxing, simple wrestling, but I’m awkward to other people too,” Mokaev said. “I think this style makes it very interesting. He always put performance because he’s a great fighter, he has good experience, and when I have an opponent like this, I stay focused and it helps me to perform better.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
