There is a new Cejudo in the UFC. Why only Mokaev can save the flyweight division
February 26, 2024, 17:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
But first we have to take care of Alex Pérez.
On the night of March 3, the UFC Fight Night 238 tournament will be held in Las Vegas, in which the undefeated native of Dagestan, Muhammad Mokaev, will celebrate his next fight. And his opponent will be the number seven in the flyweight ranking, Alex Pérez.
For Mokaev, this will be the sixth fight under the auspices of the UFC. In the previous five fights he had some problems, but he solved them all, and in four cases he even finished off his opponents, earning a place in the top 10 of the rankings. A possible victory over Pérez would be more than just an opportunity to rise a little higher. With success, Muhammad will be able to shake up the entire division, which has been stagnant for a long time.
Muhammad Mokayev
Photo: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
From the beginning, Mokaev expressed his desire to break Jon Jones’ record and become the youngest champion in UFC history. With 34 days left, it is unlikely that Muhammad will achieve this goal, but for his part he has done the best he can. After each fight, Mokaev asked to be given a more difficult opponent, issued challenges on social media, begged for fights with qualified opponents, but was ignored. Additionally, he suffered a knee injury, so the trip was slowed down.
The main thing about the UFC tournament where Mokaev’s fight will take place:
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At the moment, the situation in the flyweight division is such that champion Alexander Pantoje simply has no one to defend his belt with. If you look at the ranking, the top three are Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval and Amir Albazi. The first two faced each other and Royval won, but he has already lost twice against Pantoja, the last defeat being in December of last year. Moreno lost three times to Pantoja. And Albazi made it to the top 3 after an extremely controversial decision win over Kai Kara-France. Furthermore, Amir withdrew from the candidate party due to injury, so he probably lost his chance.
Fight between Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval
Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
The fourth and fifth places in the standings, Kai Kara-France and Matheus Nicolau, are coming off defeats and objectively cannot claim the title. Sixth-ranked Manel Kape has pulled out of fights more often than fights in the last two years. In this context, Mokaev, if he confidently finishes the fight with Perez, can reach the top 5 and become the main contender.
Now the best in the division have fought each other, and almost any fight between fighters in these positions is a rematch. Muhammad will be the fresh blood that can restart the division and end the stalemate.
There were already problems in the flyweight division back in the day. Demetrius Johnson has destroyed all challengers since 2012 and made 11 title defenses. The UFC was already thinking about closing the division, where it did not smell like competition, but the situation was saved by Henry Cejudo, who managed to defeat the Mighty Mouse in the rematch. Then they began to show interest again in the flyweight division, it was possible to organize new fights with new contenders, but very quickly everything fell back into rematches, dilogies, trilogies and even quadlogies.
For Mokaev, this is a great opportunity to express himself and try to follow Cejudo’s path. Now is the best time for Muhammad to become champion. Pantoja intends to defend his title in early May at UFC 301. And Mokaev could be his opponent. This is much more interesting than another rematch between the champion and Royval.
