Muhammad Mokaev`s strategic path back to the sport`s pinnacle involves maintaining a high level of activity and defeating every opponent placed in his path.
Following his UFC departure, Mokaev swiftly defeated Joevincent So at BRAVE CF in December 2024. He then secured a knockout victory over Bolat Zamanbekov under Karate Combat rules. His return to mixed martial arts is scheduled for June 14, where he will face Alisher Gabdullin at 971 FC 2 in Dubai.
Mokaev nearly added another fight a week earlier at FCC 42 on June 7, but ultimately felt it was “a bit too late.” Looking ahead, Mokaev expressed interest in competing again for BRAVE CF between June and September to challenge the winner of the May 30 bout between Jose Torres and Dias Yerengaipov for the flyweight championship.
“I just want to stay busy because I train all my life, I don’t have like a training camp and all this stuff,” Mokaev told MMA Fighting. “For me, it’s make weight and that’s it, I’m ready to go against anyone in the world. I competed in IMMAF, amateur world championships, and I fought every day, so this is nothing new to me.”
He recently came close to booking a significant match for later this year, one substantial enough to potentially put his other fight opportunities on hold.
“In September [2025], I was supposed to fight against Kyoji Horiguchi in PFL,” Mokaev revealed. “PFL offered me this fight, September in Dubai. And then I see the news he got signed back to UFC. I don’t shy away from the challenges. Kyoji Horiguchi, he and [UFC champion Alexandre] Pantoja are the best flyweights in the world right now. I would say Manel Kape too, by the skills. I would pick these three guys, toughest of his challenges I could face in the MMA. So I was thinking, if I beat Kyoji, I’m back in the rankings again. And he goes sign to the UFC.”
Horiguchi vacated his RIZIN title and departed the Japanese promotion to rejoin the UFC. He was initially scheduled to headline a UFC event in Baku against Tagir Ulanbekov, but was later withdrawn from the June 21 card for undisclosed reasons.
Currently, PFL does not feature a flyweight division. However, according to Mokaev, “PFL said they’re willing to the open flyweight tournament if I join them.”
Mokaev stated, “They’ve been good to me, to me to be honest. They said, whatever you want, you’re welcome. But I just don’t want to stuck in the contract, that’s the problem. I respect all organizations, but I just don’t want to get stuck in any contract. I understand from the company’s side too, they invest in you, they put everything promoting you and then you just [say], ‘Thank you for letting me use you. I’m going.’ They know what my goal exactly and I’m not lying to anyone. I’m saying, listen, I’m here to put my performance and get back in the world rankings. I don’t want to lie and [say] I never want to go to UFC. You promote me, I’m going to use your money and then one day just go. I’ll go straight forward, you know?”
With an undefeated record spanning 35 amateur and professional bouts, the 24-year-old Mokaev rapidly ascended to become a top contender in the UFC. However, he was released from the promotion after UFC CEO Dana White publicly commented that the UFC matchmakers “aren’t big fans of his for many different reasons.”
“I did some mistakes, whatever happened,” Mokaev acknowledged. “We are humans. I believe the matchmakers and everybody in their life at the age of 22, 23, under so much pressure, so much pressure I had at my age, maybe they would do more mistakes or maybe less, you know? We are all human. I learned from it. I don’t think that’s the issue right now. I just need to show my hands, my striking, and we’ll get back in talking with them. On the media, maybe they say it’s hard to work with me, but I don’t know. I did seven fights, and it wasn’t hard to work with me, but once I get come close to the title, I’m hard to deal with. I don’t know how that works. You know, if you’re hard to work with, you get kicked out from your first fight.”
For the moment, Mokaev is concentrating on accumulating wins. He has signed a one-bout agreement with Mounir Lazzez’s promotion, 971 FC, and intends to continue signing single-fight deals until he achieves his objectives. This strategy doesn`t imply he is overlooking opponents like Gabdullin or future adversaries, though finding willing, high-level opponents becomes progressively challenging after each victory.
“I don’t underestimate people,” Mokaev stated, citing difficulties in opponent scheduling. “But we had 14-0 opponent for this event coming and Mounir, the matchmaker, messaged me saying he’s out. He didn’t do his medical on time. People say they’re willing to fight me, they’re ready to smash me, they don’t say no, and then they don’t do medicals on time on purpose. Or if they do medicals on time, they ask for like crazy amount of money that organization won’t pay them, so organization like say, ‘No, we’ll get another guy.’ That’s my problem right now in my career. People might think like I’m fighting somebody not my level. Of course I’m not going to fighting on my level, I beat seven guys in the UFC.”
Regarding his upcoming opponent, “I think [Gabdullin is] a good opponent. This should be confidence, and not underestimating opponent. You have to find this balance. Even for Karate Combat, I was walking out, I had exactly same feeling what I did walk out in UFC. I should be aware these guys coming to take — basically if they beat me, that’s it. They don’t need to do 20 fights anymore, they just beat me. That’s why I should stay focused. That’s why I’m training every day.”
He further assessed Gabdullin: “I think he’s well-rounded. He has a little bit of everything. And he’s ex-Octagon champion, which in Kazakhstan is right now the biggest promotion. I think he has 15 wins and four losses, so he’s got more wins than me in professional career. It means I’m not looking down on somebody. In my head, all fighters are the same. Alisher can throw exactly the same 1-2 as me, and he knows how to shoot the double leg, but how you’re going to feel on the fight night, that’s I think I have more confidence than all these flyweights.”
Securing his first knockout in nearly five years during his Karate Combat bout boosted Mokaev`s confidence in his striking abilities and motivates him to showcase a more diverse skillset in Dubai, potentially accelerating his path back to the UFC.
“Now I’m more excited to put my striking performance there,” Mokaev said about the Karate Combat finish. “It gave me like believing in my striking abilities more. I don’t need to go shoot for takedown. Like, I go out, strike. If something doesn’t go into my plan in striking, I always gonna have plan B with my eyes closed. But now I need to go out and put some risk as well, not just like waiting for myself. Put entertainment for the people, too.”
