Maybe Muhammad Mokaev was telling the truth after all.
After Dana White and the UFC publicly separated from Mokaev following his unanimous decision to win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 in July, the 24-year-old from Dagestan said the Professional Fighters League had shown interest in signing him.
PFL President Ray Sefo denied interest in signing Mokaev on two occasions. However, Peter Murray, the organization’s CEO, had an entirely different take on Friday when he was asked about signing Mokaev.
Murray even said he believes Mokaev could be “the future face of flyweights within the Professional Fighters League.”
“I do think the flyweight category is something we will be getting into in the future,” Murray told Sherdog. “I know our guys are looking at it. You look at fighters like Muhammad Mokaev, he’s a 13-0 flyweight from Dagestan. This kid has the second-longest winning streak in UFC flyweight history. He was 23-0 as an amateur. When I look at a kid like that, that’s an opportunity.”
Mokaev had seemingly built a rough relationship with the UFC. One person knowledgeable of the situation said the UFC’s decision to release Mokaev was built partially on his poor treatment of the promotion’s staff and fellow fighters combined with his wrestle-heavy approach in the Octagon.
Murray appears to believe Mokaev will have matured and learned from his experience with the UFC or that the PFL will better handle his personality and be more open to his wrestle-first approach.
“Whether it’s Muhammad coming into the PFL system in one of our franchises, whether that be the global season or Bellator, and others like him, I think it’s a real opportunity – in particular with international talent in the flyweight weight class. Muhammad is the real deal, a lot of respect for him.”
Mokaev is 13-0 as a professional and just turned 24 on July 30. Despite the knock on his fighting style, Mokaev has finished 58% of his opponents as a pro, including two first-round finishes.
Before his unanimous-decision wins over Alex Perez and Kape in his last two fights with the UFC, Mokaev had won three straight fights by submission.
He won four of his first five fights in the UFC by submission. Some fighters with far lower finish percentages appear to be in good standing. That fact leads me to believe the decision was based more on Mokaev’s behavior than anything else.
“I believe Muhammad Mokaev could absolutely be the future face of flyweights within the Professional Fighters League, should that be a weight class we open up in the Global Season or within our Bellator platform,” Murray continued. “It’s absolutely something we’re looking at, and this kid is impressive.”
That’s a ringing endorsement from a prime decision-maker with the PFL, and that’s something not lost on Mokaev. He took to X to taunt Sefo and Mike Kogan.
Even with interest, the PFL doesn’t have Mokaev’s division as Murray indicated. This could explain why recent reports suggest he is returning to Brave CF, per MMA Fighting, the last organization he fought for before signing with the UFC in 2022.
It sounds like the seeds for Mokaev have been planted with the PFL if and when the promotion starts a flyweight division. It’ll be interesting to see his decision on whether another opportunity to return to the UFC arises while there is an offer from the PFL.
