Muhammad Mokaev: The Next Dagestani Dynamo

If you took 100 people and told them to make a list of their top 100 places they’d like to visit, the Republic of Dagestan likely wouldn’t be on any of them. In fact, most of, if not all of those 100 people have probably never even heard of Dagestan… that is unless they’re an MMA fan. 

Thanks to fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and Zabit Magomedsharipov, Dagestan has become a factory known for producing some of the best fighters in the world. With the UFC signing flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev, it appears that there’s a new premium export coming out of the Caucasus Mountains. 

Where Mokaev differs from the other fighters from Dagestan though, is that he also represents England. After facing hardships in his birthplace, Mokaev and his father sought refuge in England, spending a little under a month in a refugee centre in Liverpool before being relocated to Wigan. In order to keep his son out of trouble, Mokaev’s father encouraged Muhammad to spend time at the Wigan Youth Zone everyday.

This turned out to be extremely beneficial for the young Russian. Mokaev took up wrestling and then later became a British champion in wrestling as well as becoming a European champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. From there, a dominant force in the MMA world was just beginning to come to form.

Mokaev began his pro career on Aug 1 2020 for Brave CF, a promotion in Bahrain known for grooming prospects from around the globe. In that short amount of time, Mokaev has already amassed a 5-0 record, with 3 of those 5 wins coming by way of finish (2 KO/TKO, 1 Sub). Though even in the fights that went to the judge’s scorecards there was zero doubt that “the Punisher” had won the fight, winning by a unanimous decision in each of them. 

Needless to say, 5-0 with a 60% finish rate in just a year and a half of fighting professionally is extremely impressive. What’s even more impressive though is Mokaev’s extensive amateur record. Prior to turning pro, “baby Khabib” had a spotless 22-0 amateur record. These weren’t any rinky-dink fights held in a local gymnasium either. No, instead a majority of these fights came at the IMMAF World Championships, the pinnacle of amateur mixed martial arts. This spectacular undefeated run earned him back-to-back junior bantamweight titles at the premier amateur MMA competition. 

Such accolades and lengthy undefeated records don’t come from fighting timidly. Just like his nickname suggests, Mokaev is ruthless and once he gets his hands on his opponent you can bet they’re going to get punished. He’s known for his smothering wrestling style. Once the fight starts he looks for takedowns, gains top control and rains down ground and pound until he melts his opponent. 

Mokaev will be making his UFC debut on March 19th at UFC Fight Night London. There’s no doubt he’ll be looking to punish his opponent, maintain his undefeated record, and follow in the footsteps of his Dagestani brethren. 

How far can Mokaev go in the UFC? Let us know in the comments! Keep it with VMTV for all your MMA news and views.