MANCHESTER, England – Mohammed Mokaev has finished fighting out of his contract and will soon become a free agent, but a return to UFC seems unlikely, according to Dana White.
“There was a lot of really bad stuff going on behind the scenes in that fight,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters during the UFC 304 post-fight press conference at Co-op Live. “Yeah, it wasn't good.”
Mokaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has demanded a fight for the flyweight title next, but it looks like he might go home with a quitting letter instead.
“He's no longer under contract,” White said. “I think the PFL is going to get a great undefeated fighter.”
He then added, “With the whole series of events that started over the last few months with the Performance Institute and other stories that have led to this and a lot of other things, these guys (UFC matchmakers) don't want to re-sign him.”
White said it wasn't Mokaev's performance or fighting style that decided the outcome, but rather a series of issues outside the cage that made matchmakers reluctant to offer him a new contract.
“Yeah, that's what we tell everybody,” White said sarcastically. “We teach everybody how to fight, and we've been doing this for a long time. I'm sure some of the matchmakers said something to him. Well, matchmakers aren't fans of him for a lot of reasons. It's not just the takedowns. 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.”
The bout between Mokaev and Manel Kape (19-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) was a heated one. The fighters traded words at the UFC Performance Institute, at the hotel during fight week, onstage at the weigh-in ceremony and right before the in-cage introductions on Saturday. Mokaev defeated Kape by unanimous decision.
Mokaev signed with UFC as a 5-0 pro entering 2022, but began garnering attention as an amateur with a 23-0 record. He had beaten Cody Darden, Charles Johnson, Malcolm Gordon, Jafer Filho, Tim Elliott and Alex Perez prior to Saturday's bout.
For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 304 event hub.
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