Jon Jones must unify the titles with Tom Aspinall

It's hard to remember a fight in recent UFC history that was so hotly contested before the bout even began, and then ended so lacklusterly after witnessing the contest between Mohamed Mokaev and Manel Kape.

I get it. They're flyweights. They don't inherently have high knockout rates and are prone to long, grappling-focused bouts. Neither of these guys, in particular, are naturally experts at finishing. But given what we've seen in the months and weeks leading up to this fight, and the moment when dozens of security guards had to hold them off in the Octagon before Bruce Buffer's announcement, well, okay.

Initial frustrations aside, it's understandable why this fight didn't live up to expectations. Kape (19-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fought the majority of the bout with a sprained toe and was lucky not to lose via injury TKO when the sprain first occurred. And Mokaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has a much longer career ahead of him to bounce back from this fight, and it was the final fight of his contract. He was also looking to maintain his unbeaten record, which he achieved by unanimous decision.

The most intriguing question in this case is whether Mokaev will re-sign with UFC and, well…

UFC CEO Dana White didn't leave us in suspense for long about Mokaev's future. He wished the 23-year-old “good luck,” said he would move him out of UFC, that matchmakers were unwilling to sign him to a new contract, and that the PFL would get its “great unbeaten guy.”

Harsh, but not shocking. Mokaev has been a thorn in the side of the UFC all week with his antics, and after the fight he claimed UFC brass told him not to use takedowns in the bout, but whether or not that's true, it's unlikely to earn him any favor from the UFC.

Could Mokaev and his highly-talented manager, Tim Simpson, find a way to make amends? Probably. We've seen fighters come back from worse situations and work things out.

Honestly, Mokaev can only hope that's the case, as there aren't really any good options for him at flyweight outside of UFC at the moment, and there aren't a ton of opportunities outside of UFC at bantamweight.

Coming into the match against King Green it was predicted on paper to be Paddy Pimblett's toughest yet, but the controversial Liverpool man made it look easy.

Critics might argue that a poorly timed takedown attempt by Green cost him his first submission loss since January 2009, and that's true, but Pimblett took over from there, ended the fight in the most brutal way possible, and shoved it down everyone's throats.

Now it's all starting to get real. Pimblett signed a new contract with UFC just days before the fight, and his rankings are expected to be released next week. He named Renato Moicano, which seems like a fitting statement to make ahead of his September 28 fight in Paris against Benoit St. Denis, win or lose.

If this means Pimblett has competed at the level of his supposed competitors, then his career is about to get really interesting.

I'm not sure what else needs to be said here other than the headline, because Tom Aspinall has done all he can at this point.

I've been against Jones vs. Stipe Miocic since day one, and time is proving me right: it's a great fight in isolation, but it's completely laughable as an undisputed heavyweight championship bout after Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) defeated Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds to retain his interim title.

For years, the question of whether Jones needs to further his legacy has been met with derision and disdain, and I was one of those people. But if he beats Miocic in November and then retires from the sport without a unification bout with Aspinall, it will be a black mark on his resume. I now fully believe that.

I have nothing more to add.

I wasn’t bold enough to predict the favorability of Belal Muhammad in my official MMA Junkie staff predictions, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a hunch that he would beat Leon Edwards and win the welterweight title.

The line between confidence and false confidence can be hard to tell. After his March 2021 no-contest with Edwards, I questioned his confidence more than ever, especially with how much Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) talked the week of the fight. But then he came out and got the job done.

Was that what he said he would “torture” on media day? No. Of course not. Maybe only to some in the audience. But this wasn't a bad fight compared to what was expected. Muhammad did pretty much everything everyone expected him to do to win, and now the belt is in his hands.

We now live in a world where Muhammad wins gold medals, and many people, including UFC CEO White, aren't too happy about that. But Muhammad's story shows that meritocracy still exists to some degree in the sport. It's lopsided overall, but Muhammad kept winning until no one could deny it, and he succeeded. Whatever your feelings about him, if you value this as a real sport in any way, you have to respect him.

For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 304 event hub.