Muhammad Mokaev is confident he can break Jon Jones' record of being the youngest champion in UFC history.
Mokaev, 22, is back in action tonight at UFC 280 as he faces Malcolm Gordon in his third fight for the promotion. The amateur standout needed less than a minute to submit Cody Durden in his UFC debut in March, going on to set a promotional record for the most takedowns in a flyweight fight by winning a lopsided decision against Charles Johnson in July. Both of Mokaev's previous wins took place in the English capital as he now looks to improve to 9-0 in Abu Dhabi a win against Gordon, who is a decade older than him.
The Brit is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC and has been backed by fans to become a future champion, with Mokaev focused on breaking the record Jones set when he was a 23-year-old. 'Bones' won the UFC light-heavyweight title by knocking out MMA legend Shogun Rua exactly four months before his 24th birthday, meaning Mokaev will break Jones' record if he can win the flyweight title before the 20th of March 2024.
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"I think I will fight for interim belt end of next year and then March 2024 in UK for the real belt, or maybe actually fighting for the [undisputed] belt next year," Mokaev told Mirror Fighting . "If you understand this flyweight division, guys like Alex Perez and Askar Askarov pull out of their fights. Many guys in this division are not fighting because they are pulling out of their fights, Amir Albazi didn't fight for three years."
Mokaev also promised he would retire from fighting if he couldn't beat former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, who faces Deiveson Figueiredo for the fourth time at UFC 283 in January. Moreno is ranked No.1 at 125lb but Mokaev doesn't see anything special in the Mexican or the other fighters around him at the top of the division.
"That's why Figueiredo and Moreno are fighting for a fourth time because this division is not active enough, so I do believe this dream is possible," he added. "I just did another interview and said if the UFC gave me a fight against Moreno now and I don't beat him, I am ready to finish my career. I know skill wise I beat these guys, right Moreno is stylistically the easiest fight for me in the UFC. I don't see anything special about these guys, they have been in this game for so long. One day they're a champion, then in two years they are out of their career. The division changes, if you are really active and focused in your career you won't be like this."
