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Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 204, which took place Saturday in London.
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 204 at The 02 in London? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 204, which saw a record-setting nine bonuses issued on a historic card.
The UFC put on one of the most memorable events in its storied history on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 204, which went down at The 02 in London and featured a remarkable nine finishes out of 12 bouts.
The show closed with a swift and decisive performance from [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who submitted fellow heavyweight contender [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag] (34-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the first round of their fight to stay unbeaten inside the octagon.
For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 53 post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 204.
Watch Muhammad Mokaev make his highly anticipated UFC debut with quick submission finish at UFC Fight Night 204.
[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] had big expectations for his UFC debut and he made sure to deliver.
The highly touted flyweight prospect needed less than a minute to lock in his first win under the UFC lights. Mokaev (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his UFC debut Saturday in the opening bout of UFC Fight Night 204 in London.
Both Mokaev and Cody Durden (12-4-1 MMA, 1-2-1 UFC) started hot in a high-paced bout. Shortly after the fight started, Mokaev connected a knee on Durden, dropped him, then quickly locked a guillotine and finished the fight shortly after. The official stoppage came at the 0:58 mark of Round 1.
https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1505239828169822210?s=20&t=H-0XvHNQ6U-D8tnh0ENFSA
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Mokaev is undefeated in his professional MMA career. The 21-year-old made his professional MMA debut in late 2020 on the back of an amateur career where he went 22-0. Mokaev fought amateur for five years, which expanded from 2015 to 2020.
Muhammad Mokaev gets #UFCLondon off to an ELECTRIC start with a 58-second finish š„ pic.twitter.com/j4KMwgnkVE
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 19, 2022
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After Cody Durden’s recent controversial post-fight interview, Muhammad Mokaev called for the fight.
[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] will get the crack at [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag] he asked for.
A highly touted flyweight prospect, Mokaev (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his promotional debut against Durden (12-3-1 MMA, 1-1-1 UFC) on March 19 at UFC Fight Night.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
A former IMMAF champion, Mokaev gained recognition for unparalleled dominance as an amateur fighter.Ā According to Mokaev, his MMA record is currently 30-0 overall. Leading MMA databaseĀ TapologyĀ currently has him listed at 22-0 as an amateur, 5-0 as a professional, and 1-0 in exhibition fights.
In 2020, Mokaev turned professional and won his debut by unanimous decision at Brave CF 37. Heād compete four more times under the promotionās banner and go 3-0 with one no contest and three finishes. Mokaev, 21, most recently competed in September when he defeated Blaine OāDriscoll at Brave CF 54. He signed with the UFC in November.
As for Durden, the Georgia-born fighter has split his UFC appearances going 1-1-1 through three fights under the promotion’s banner. He picked up his first promotional victory Nov. 20 when he defeated Aori Qileng by unanimous decision.
After the fight, Durden verbalized his glee for sending Qileng “back to China where he came from.” The line struck the wrong chord with many, including Mokaev, who tweeted and pondered if Durden should be the opponent for his debut.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for March 19 includes:
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With just six pro bouts on his resume, the spotlight just shined brighter on 21-year-old prospect Muhammad Mokaev.
[autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] has been in the spotlight for some time now, despite having just six professional fights under his belt.
On Wednesday, however, the spotlight became even brighter after the UFC announced it has signed Mokaev (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to its roster. No debut date or opponent was included for the bantamweight fighter.
A former IMMAF champion, Mokaev gained recognition for unparalleled dominance as an amateur fighter. According to Mokaev, his MMA record is currently 30-0 overall. Leading MMA database Tapology currently has him listed at 22-0 as an amateur, 5-0 as a professional, and 1-0 in exhibition fights.
In 2020, Mokaev turned professional and won his debut via unanimous decision at Brave CF 37. He’d compete four more times under the promotion’s banner and go 3-0 with one no contest and three finishes. Mokaev most recently competed in September when he defeated Blaine O’Driscoll at Brave CF 54.
“I believe this 100 percent: I donāt need to go through the Contender Series to let people know about me,” Mokaev told MMA Junkie in May after he said he turned down an offer to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series. “I deserve straight road to the UFC.ā
šØ NEW SIGNING šØ
š Former @IMMAFed Champ
š Undefeated MMA RecordWelcome to the UFC @MuhammadMokaev š¬š§
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 17, 2021
Originally from Dagestan, Mokaev fights out of the United Kingdom. Upon his signing, Mokaev, 21, becomes the second youngest fighter on the UFC roster behind China’s Rong Zhu.
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Things got pretty heated when two of Europe’s top prospects, Muhammad Mokaev and Blaine O’Driscoll, went face to face.
Things got pretty heated when two of Europe’s top prospects went face to face.
Two-time IMMAF junior world champion [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] (4-0) meets SBG Ireland’s [autotag]Blaine O’Driscoll[/autotag] (9-4) in Saturday’s BRAVE CF 54 co-main event, and the unbeaten rising star took issue with O’Driscoll getting in his face.
When the two fighters pressed heads, Mokaev aggressively shoved O’Driscoll and the pair immediately was separated.
Iāve never let anyone to touch my face first and this guys isnāt different to others! Tomorrow night I gonna smash him In Sha Allah āš» #BraveCF54 pic.twitter.com/AF3R44E5aO
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) September 24, 2021
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Dagestan-born, British-based Mokaev revealed he turned down an opportunity at Dana White’s Contender Series because he hopes to get a direct shot at the UFC. But first, Mokaev is eyeing BRAVE CF gold and he has to get through arguably his sternest test in O’Driscoll, who has experience fighting high-level opposition such as UFC veteran Jose Torres and reigning Cage Warriors champion Jake Hadley.
BRAVE CF 54 takes place Saturday in Konin, Poland and is headlined by a lightweight title fight between reigning champion Amin Ayoub (16-4) and Ahmed Amir (11-3-1).
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkieās blog space. We donāt take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Unbeaten amateur champion Muhammad Mokaev continues to make headlines ahead of his highly-anticipated pro debut.
Unbeaten amateur champion [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] continues to make headlines ahead of his highly-anticipated professional debut.
Mokaev, a two-time IMMAF junior world champion and two-time European champion, has a perfect amateur record of 23-0 and will make his pro debut against Northern Ireland’s [autotag]Glenn McVeigh[/autotag] on Saturday at Brave CF 37.
Mokaev had numerous opponents drop out before McVeigh made his pitch on social media by calling the Dagestan-born, Manchester-based fighter a “bum.”
The pair have history together, with McVeigh claiming that he’s been calling out Mokaev for years, but the fight never came to fruition. The two finally came face to face when they touched down in Stockholm and had to be separated on multiple occasions.
They first got into a heated altercation at the hotel on Thursday and tensions continued to rise at Friday’s weigh-insĀ morning.
Mokaev is widely considered to be one of the most talented amateur fighters to come through the IMMAF ranks, and the bad blood between him and his opponent has only served to raise the anticipation level ahead of his debut on Saturday.
TheĀ Blue CornerĀ is MMA Junkieās blog space. We donāt take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Two time IMMAF junior bantamweight world champion Muhammad Mokaev has turned professional with Bahraini promotion Brave CF.
One of the most talented amateur fighters to come through the IMMAF ranks has put pen to paper on his first professional deal.
England-based Russian [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] was officially confirmed as Bahrain-based promotion Brave CF’s latest signing. The fighter announced the news on his social media and a press release from the promotion confirmed the news.
Mokaev is a two-time IMMAF junior world champion and two-time European champion with a perfect amateur record of 23-0. Now the Dagestan-born, Manchester-based fighter will look to build his resume in the professional ranks
In a statement formally announcing Mokaev’s signing, Brave CF President Mohammed Shahid hailed the bantamweight’s arrival on the roster.
“Muhammad Mokaev for me is the new norm of MMA,” Shahid stated. “Having huge experience at the amateur level, we have to acknowledge that Mokaev is special.
“This kid is pound-for-pound No. 1 in the amateur world. His confidence and skillset today, even with no pro bouts to his name, make him easily one of the top prospects on the road to be the best fighter in the world in the next five years. He is in Brave CF to fight the best fighters in the world because he wants to be the best in the world.”
Brave CF’s bantamweight title is currently held by Filipino fighter Stephen Loman (14-2), who holds the distinction of being the promotion’s longest-serving active champion.
