Tag: Muhammad Mokaev

Manel Kape: Muhammad Mokaev wanted a big test, ‘I’m the biggest test of this division’

Manel Kape warns Muhammad Mokaev to be careful what he wishes for.

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] warns [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] to be careful what he wishes for.

Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) takes on Mokaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the UFC 304 main card July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Constantly eager for a step up in competition, Mokaev will get that in former Rizin champion Kape. Their flyweight fight is expected to be a No. 1 contender bout, and Kape plans on showing the undefeated contender that he is the next level.

“There always has to be a bad blood because he is coming to take what is mine,” Kape told Inside Fighting. “I’m coming to take what is yours, so there is no peace, by the way, between me and my opponents. Only after the fight, there is peace, but before that, there is no peace. We all want to win. There is no beef between me and Mokaev.

“Mokaev in the past, he wanted to fight me so much, he tweeted a lot about fighting me. OK, he wants to fight the best. He wants to prove to his fans, the UFC, everybody that he’s ready for the big dog. Since Day 1 that he joined the UFC, he’s been calling out many fighters. He fights, he wins. He wanted a big test because I’m the biggest test of this division, so there you go. You ask for something, they deliver. Let’s see if he’s capable to deal with that.”

Mokaev has finished four of his six octagon wins. Kape acknowledges his skills, but isn’t ready to shower him with praise just yet.

“I can’t say he impressed me because it’s very difficult for someone to impress me, but he’s doing well. I’m not impressed because I see a lot of mistakes that show the difference between an excellent fighter and a championship material.”

[lawrence-related id=2743131,2743129,2737880]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC 304 fight

Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev square off in a pivotal flyweight clash at UFC 304. Here’s what you need to know.

A potential No. 1 contender flyweight bout between [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] and [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] takes place at UFC 304.

Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev preview

After dropping his first two UFC bouts, former Rizin champion Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has won four straight – knocking out Ode’ Osbourne and Zhalgas Zhumagulov, followed by decision wins over David Dvorak and most recently Felipe Dos Santos at UFC 293.

Mokaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he defeated former title challenger Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238. Prior to that, the 23-year-old submitted five of his past six opponents, including Tim Elliott.

Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev odds

DraftKings released the odds for the bout, with Kape opening up as a slight -130 favorite over Mokaev, who’s a +110 underdog.

How to watch Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304

  • When: July 27
  • Where: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
  • Broadcast/streaming: ESPN+ pay-per-view

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Manel Kape ready to shut down Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 304: ‘Everything I do is a masterclass’

Manel Kape expects to emerge as a No. 1 contender after UFC 304.

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] expects to emerge as a No. 1 contender after UFC 304.

Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a pivotal flyweight clash July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

With both Kape and Mokaev on winning streaks, “Starboy” is confident that handing Mokaev his first-career loss will lead to a shot at UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.

“There is no other fighter,” Kape said in an interview with Grind City Media. “If there was, it’s (Amir) Albazi, but Albazi is injured, so maybe he’s going to have one more fight. Mokaev is the youngest fighter right now. He’s been making a lot of noise, he’s (on a) six-win streak.

“So, there has to be someone. That someone is me that has to shut down this. …I’m going to do my job. I’m going to do my work, and my work is never boring. Everything I’m going to do is a masterclass. Everything I do is special. Everything I do is perfect.”

Mokaev has used his wrestling to control and dominate most of his opposition, but Kape is confident that he’s well rounded enough to handle him.

“I’m not focused on the wrestling. I’m not focused on his strength of wrestling,” Kape said. “How many fighters have you seen take me down? Even Pantoja the champion when he fought me, he didn’t take me down, you think Mokaev is going to take me down? If he takes me down, I’m going to do what I did to David Dvorak, I’m going to take his arm off.”

[lawrence-related id=2737880,2678195]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Top flyweight contenders Manel Kape, Muhammad Mokaev targeted for UFC 304 clash

A high-stakes flyweight showdown between Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev is expected to take place at UFC 304 this summer.

A high-stakes flyweight showdown between [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] and [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] is expected to take place at UFC 304 this summer.

Mokaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) announced on Wednesday on Instagram that he is set to take on Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in what will likely serve as a 125-pound title eliminator on the July 27 event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie that Kape has verbally agreed to the bout. The person requested anonymity because no official UFC announcement has been made.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6uIXR5IiSR

Mokaev, No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings, is on a six-fight winning streak inside the octagon and is unbeaten throughout his amateur and professional career. He was passed over for a title shot at UFC 301 against Alexandre Pantoja in favor of Steve Erceg, but the 23-year-old could solidify his opportunity at gold with another win.

No. 10-ranked Kape, meanwhile, will bring a four-fight winning streak into UFC 304. He’s struggled to stay active in recent years, though, with a slew of injuries, cancellations, and a weight miss stunting his progress.

The latest UFC 304 lineup now includes:

  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Renato Moicano: ‘I don’t think it was very smart’ for Alexandre Pantoja to fight Steve Erceg at UFC 301

Renato Moicano thinks Muhammad Mokaev would have created more buzz than Steve Erceg as a title challenger.

[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] would have created more buzz than [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] as a UFC title challenger.

Despite Mokaev having more experience in the octagon, flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) wound up drawing Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 301 (Pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) headliner at Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Moicano, who’s good friends and American Top Team teammates with Pantoja, thinks Erceg isn’t a big enough name to draw viewers in after being in the UFC for only a year.

“I am a friend with Pantoja,” Moicano said on the “MIGHTYcast” podcast with Demetrious Johnson. “He’s my boy. I like him a lot. Hard worker, dedicated guy, always in the gym, but I didn’t like this fight at all. This guy (Erceg), he’s dangerous but only three fights in the UFC. Nobody knows who he is. He’s not going to sell any pay-per-views. I think Pantoja wanted bad to fight in Brazil because it’s his home, right?

“But I don’t think it was very smart in the business side. People don’t realize how this is a business, right? We need to create a story behind the fights. Like Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington, they got bigger because of the beef. UFC profited off that, they profited off that. If you see Pantoja fighting another guy that nobody knows, I don’t think it’s good for the show. In my book, Pantoja is better than him everywhere.”

Erceg and Mokaev (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) both most recently fought at UFC Fight Night 238 in March. Erceg knocked out Matt Schnell, and Mokaev outgrappled former title challenger Alex Perez. Although Erceg had the more exciting performance, Moicano thinks Mokaev vs. Pantoja is a bigger fight.

“I’m not really excited to watch the fight,” Moicano said. “I would like to watch Pantoja against Mokaev. I know a lot of people give trash to Mokaev because he had a tough fight against Perez, but I think he would sell the fight more.”

[lawrence-related id=2736211,2729535,2725811]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Alex Perez not surprised Steve Erceg got UFC title shot, despite Muhammad Mokaev’s ‘tougher resume’

Alex Perez explains why he’s not surprised by Steve Erceg’s UFC title shot at flyweight.

LAS VEGAS – Many were puzzled to see [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] get a title shot against UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja – but not [autotag]Alex Perez[/autotag].

Although he might not agree with it, Perez (24-8 MMA, 6-4 UFC) understands very well why Erceg ended up getting a title fight over [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag], who many, including Perez, thought was more deserving of the opportunity.

“If you look at resumes, Mokaev has a tougher resume, I believe,” Perez said at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 55 media day. “He’s fought longer in the UFC, but he’s also fought Tim Elliot, who fought Demetrious (Johnson), and I fought (Alexandre) Pantoja and Deiveson (Figueiredo), and he beat me.

“But in this sport, you’re just as good as your last performance. It doesn’t matter what you did. Like I said, Steve went out there and did a good job and fought a ranked guy and beat him, then Alessandro (Costa), then comes in and finishes Matt Schnell. That’s very impressive.”

Mokaev has twice as many wins in the UFC as Erceg. Unlike Erceg, he’s unbeaten in his MMA career and has wins over two former UFC title challengers – Perez and Tim Elliott. Yet, the man fighting Pantoja in the main event of UFC 301 in Brazil on May 4 is Erceg, not Mokaev.

Perez, who returns this Saturday against Matheus Nicolau (19-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC on ESPN 55 (ESPN, ESPN+), believes it’s more than just having a better resume, it’s also about putting on dominant fights and getting finishes – something Perez feels Mokaev hasn’t done.

“Mokaev went out there, and I was coming off the couch after a year layoff, and it was hard fought,” Perez said. “I thought I won the fight. Obviously, the judges didn’t see it that way, and I can’t disagree with them, but it wasn’t his best performance. It’s also a business. I understand this guy is going in there and putting people to sleep, so why not give him a shot. It’s a business, but it’s also fighting, and you’re just as good as your last performance.”

As far as the fight between Pantoja and Erceg, Perez believes the champion will retain his belt even though he finds Erceg a formidable challenge.

“I give it to Pantoja because of the experience, but Steve is tough because he’s got crisp boxing and Pantoja has shown to get hurt,” Perez said. “Steve, I’ve seen him during fight week, and he’s a big dud, and I think I’m big for the division. He’s tall and has very good boxing. It’s hard today if he’s good on the ground because no one has taken him there. I’ve never done studies on him, so I don’t if he’s been taken down, but he’s looking like a stud. But Pantoja with the experience, and he’s got a great camp in American Top Team, I’m going to go with that.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420030788]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 55.

Steve Erceg on UFC 301: People wouldn’t have been super excited about Muhammad Mokaev title shot

Steve Erceg believes the UFC simply saw him as a more exciting option than Muhammad Mokaev for a title shot.

[autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] believes the UFC saw him as a more exciting option than [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] for a title shot.

Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) challenges flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) in the UFC 301 headliner May 4 in Rio, getting the opportunity over undefeated Mokaev (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

Erceg knocked out Matt Schnell at UFC Fight Night 238. On the same night, Mokaev beat former title challenger Alex Perez, but Erceg doesn’t believes Mokaev left the best impression with his performance, despite having more octagon experience than him.

“Two of the clear guys, (Brandon) Moreno and (Brandon) Royval, just fought for the title and lost,” Erceg told Middle Easy. “(Amir) Albazi and a few other people are injured. There’s others that have missed weight or haven’t fought in a while, and so it really was between me and Mokaev.

“Mokaev, he’s very young, and I don’t think people would have been super excited about seeing him fight for the title after his last performance. So, I think they were just trying to keep it interesting.”

Erceg agrees with Pantoja saying he’s lucky to get the title shot but thinks he’s made the most out of his UFC opportunities so far.

“I have been in the UFC not for very long, but my first fight was against a top-10 guy (Dvorak), then I fought in New York against (Alessandro) Costa, and then I finally got the Matt Schnell fight who again, top-10 ranked, beat him emphatically,” Erceg said. “So, I just think they liked the storyline there and obviously I’m willing to take on anybody and find out who the toughest guy is.”

[lawrence-related id=2726385,2725811,2725603,2724846]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Muhammad Mokaev: Steve Erceg ‘still green,’ loses to champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301

Muhammad Mokaev thinks Steve Erceg is too inexperienced to beat Alexandre Pantoja.

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] is too inexperienced to beat [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag].

Flyweight champion Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) defends his title at against Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the UFC 301 headliner May 4 in Rio. Mokaev was passed up for a title shot despite defeating former title challenger Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238. Erceg knocked out Matt Schnell on the same night to earn the title opportunity over him.

With Erceg having never gone past Round 3, Mokaev sees Pantoja’s pressure being too much.

“I think Pantoja will win,” Mokaev told TNT Sports. “I think Erceg is still green, still not as experienced to fight Pantoja. Pantoja is very, very experienced. He’s a dog in this game. He’s a bully fighter.

“He comes, tries to finish you from early seconds, and then when he cannot finish you, he breaks. That’s the key I’ve learned from watching Pantoja, I’ve trained with him, and I know I have the keys to beat him.”

As for Erceg, Mokaev doesn’t see him hanging with Pantoja on the ground.

“Erceg has really good boxing, but ground game is not there,” Mokaev continued. “Especially he just fought, he’s not a wrestler, he doesn’t have the condition to work for five rounds. Every great striker once they get taken down, they cannot strike second and third round the same as they can in the first round.”

[lawrence-related id=2725811,2725603,2725514,2724846]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

Muhammad Mokaev baffled by Steve Erceg’s UFC 301 title shot: ‘They can delay, but they cannot deny my destiny’

Muhammad Mokaev was pretty angry to find out that Steve Erceg got a UFC flyweight title shot over him.

[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] was pretty angry to find out that [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] got a UFC flyweight title shot over him.

At UFC Fight Night 238 earlier this month, Mokaev (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) defeated former title challenger Alex Perez. On the same night, Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) notched his first octagon finish when he knocked out Matt Schnell. With flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) looking to defend his title at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio, the promotion opted to give Erceg the title shot over Mokaev.

“They gave the opportunity to ranked No. 10, Steve Erceg, who has only three fights in the UFC,” Mokaev told talkSPORT. “I have more finishes in the UFC than he has fights in the UFC. I don’t know why they’ve done this, but what me and my team decided, I’m fighting everybody in this division. They can delay, but they cannot deny my destiny.”

Mokaev thinks the lack of a finish is what hurt his chances.

“They told me before the fight, if you finish Alex Perez, you’re fighting for the belt,” Mokaev said. “I didn’t finish Alex Perez. I didn’t feel well in the morning of the fight. I know casual fans don’t care how you feel. They will say, ‘Excuses,’ but it’s not just me, 95 percent of the fighters don’t feel well in the training camps. Not going into fights 100 percent, it was me that fight.”

Mokaev has shifted his focus to Brandon Royval, who was also campaigning for a second shot at Pantoja after defeating Brandon Moreno at UFC Fight Night 237. Mokaev wants Royval on the UFC’s rumored Manchester card in July.

“Soon I will be back Just waiting on Royval , now sure if he wants to come to Manchester 🤔.”

[lawrence-related id=2725603,2725514,2724846]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 5: Muhammad Mokaev, Umar Nurmagomedov climb

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 238 in Las Vegas.

UFC Fight Night 238 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas was the sole source of rankings moves in this week’s update.

First, in the bantamweight division, [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] turned in a dominant performance against Bekzat Almakhan after getting clipped early, still earning multiple 10-8 scores on the official cards. Entering the week at No. 15, Nurmagomedov jumps up to No. 12.

In the next fight, [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] picked up a key win in the flyweight division, earning a unanimous nod over Alex Perez. Mokaev entered the week at #6, and exits one spot higher, breaking into the top 5.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.