Mohamed Mokaev believes he was right about starting a brawl with Manel Kape just days before their UFC 304 bout.
The flyweight feud culminated on Saturday at a pay-per-view at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, with Mokaev winning a unanimous decision in a bout that was full of intense hostility and little action in the cage, but didn't live up to the expectations built up by a pre-fight altercation last Wednesday at the Fighters Hotel.
Speaking to the media after the bout and asked about pre-fight nerves, Mokaev made a startling admission about how the brawl started.
“This fight was important for me,” Mokaev said. “Five days before the Alex Perez fight. [in March]When I met Manel, I got headbutted. If you look at my fight with Alex Perez, I came into the fight with a cut. I had stitches in my eyebrow. In my fight with Alex Perez, everyone thought I was a boring wrestler, but I was attacking with my knees. [prevent my cut from opening]Nobody knew. We shook hands with Manel. In one interview, whoever asked me about Las Vegas, I said that what was between me and Cape, was going to stay in Las Vegas. In the interview, [Kape] He said if he comes to Manchester he will give it a second go.
“I couldn't get close to him at the hotel so I said let's take a photo and then when he came I dropped him. I'm not Alex Perez so I had to do it. I'm not someone who's going to let someone else bully me. I grew up in a tough environment. My life has been tough and I don't say anything to bullies.”
Before the bell rang to start Saturday's bout, Mokaev and Kape were separated moments after entering the cage, seemingly sparking another pre-fight brawl, but cooler heads prevailed, security stayed between the two men for as long as necessary and the bout went ahead as scheduled.
Mokaev dismissed the incident as part of the game.
“It's OK,” Mokaev said. “We're two guys here to fight. He's old. We're two guys. [here] What else should I do to fight? I know there is UFC security, but we are two guys. He comes for his stuff, and I come for mine. That's normal.”
When asked to elaborate further on his rivalry with Kape outside the cage, Mokaev declined, saying the issue is resolved for now.
“We just fought,” Mokaev said. “We shook hands. Whatever happened, it should be between me and Manel. I don't want to say anything bad about him. He lost, he has a family, he has kids who watch his fights. He's there to make money for his family.”
“Once you hit somebody, I think you need to stop there. You don't want to take the guy down. I wish him the best of luck. I'm young, but I'm mentally strong, and I believe I need to help lift them off the ground now, not kick him down.”
In an interview immediately after the fight, Mokaev revealed that the fight against Kape was the last fight under his current contract and asked the Manchester crowd to cheer him on to help him sign a new deal, adding that he had spoken to matchmakers beforehand about signing a new contract and that he had been encouraged to show off his striking rather than his trademark wrestling.
Unfortunately for Mokaev, UFC CEO Dana White has ruled out the promising flyweight returning to the Octagon anytime soon.
“Yeah, that's what we tell the guys. We teach the guys how to fight,” White said at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. “We've been doing this for a long time. I'm sure some matchmaker said something to him. Matchmakers aren't fans of him for a lot of reasons. There are a lot of guys in this business who go for takedowns, a lot of guys who fight that style, but it's not all about that.”
“He's no longer under contract. I think the PFL is going to get a great unbeaten fighter. I wish him the best of luck.”
