MANCHESTER, England – Muhammad Mokaev isn’t entirely surprised to see his fight move down to the prelims.
Mokaev’s (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) flyweight bout vs. Manel Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) went from Saturday’s UFC 304 main card (ESPN+ pay-per-view) at Co-op Live to the featured prelim, to further down onto the early prelims.
With their fight being a potential No. 1 contender, many didn’t expect it to be demoted. Mokaev theorizes that the UFC may not be a fan of his fighting style.
“Maybe my style is boring,” Mokaev told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 304 media day. “Maybe Manel is 50-50, they’re scared if he makes weight or not, but it doesn’t matter what time to beat him.”
Mokaev expected a title shot after his last win over former title challenger Alex Perez. He envisions the possibility of being passed up again if he doesn’t get the crowd on their feet with a statement performance over Kape.
“If it’s an exciting fight as people want to see, these casuals, if they see an exciting fight, I think everybody is going to talk about I deserve this,” Mokaev said. “But I think I deserve even earlier, but whatever yeah. It doesn’t matter when to fight them, I have to fight them all anyway.”
Mokaev, 23, has been active and willing to fight anyone. However, he learned the hard way that meritocracy doesn’t always mean much when it comes to big opportunities.
“The UFC can do what they want,” Mokaev said. “It’s not about the rankings. When I came to the UFC, I was thinking it’s all about beating ranked guys and it’s not about that. It’s about what they want to see as a champion.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
