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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Muhammad Mokaev could be just one major move away from challenging for UFC gold.

The 23-year-old flyweight contender fights Alex Perez this Saturday at UFC Vegas 87, and the bout has some unexpectedly high stakes in the aftermath of a pivotal UFC Mexico City matchup.

This past weekend, 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja was cageside to witness Brandon Royval earn a hard-fought split decision win over Brandon Moreno. Theoretically, the bout was to produce a No. 1 contender to fight Pantoja at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, but with Pantoja having defended his title against Royval just two months ago, the door is now open for fresh challenger to stand across Pantoja in the May 4 main event.

Mokaev has done the math and sees a win over Perez as the final part of the equation that earns him a championship opportunity.

“My DMs were full after Brandon Royval vs. Brandon Moreno,” Mokaev said at UFC Vegas 87 media day. “Everyone was like, ‘Go after fight with Pantoja.’ I have trained with Pantoja after my debut and I haven’t seen anything special in him, like he has priority in skill advantage. This [week] he actually said that he would like to fight me instead of Brandon Royval.

“Brandon Royval, I think he has an [injury]. Brandon Moreno is 0-3 against Pantoja. Royval, 0-2 against Pantoja. [Manel] Kape probably going to have one more fight because he didn’t make weight last fight. [Amir] Albazi is injured. Kai Kara-France got the concussion, because when I asked to fight him, [UFC matchmaker] Mick [Maynard] said, ‘He’s got a concussion so he won’t be able to fight you.’ Now I’m the only challenger, but I have to beat Alex Perez in an impressive way.”

Mokaev joined the UFC in 2022 with an abundance of pro and amateur experience and has yet to taste defeat, winning his first five UFC fights. Though his wrestling-heavy style hasn’t always produced impactful offense, “The Punisher” has still managed to submit four opponents inside the octagon.

He’s focused on taking Perez out inside the distance if that’s what it takes to impress the fans and matchmakers.

“If it’s a decision or something like this, I know people don’t like it,” Mokaev said. “When I had a decision against Charles Johnson, I wasn’t happy with myself because I know I can finish these guys. I’m young, hungry, crazy, and I need to finish these guys and then I’m going to fight for the belt.”

Four months shy of his 24th birthday, Mokaev will fall just short of the UFC record for youngest champion even if he manages to book the Pantoja fight and emerge victorious at UFC 301. Currently, the record is held by Jon Jones, who claimed his first UFC title at 23 years and 242 days.

It’s a record that Mokaev targeted earlier in his career, but that he’s not worried about it in the slightest as his dream of becoming champion creeps closer to reality.

“Listen, if UFC wanted me to become UFC champion, they would have done that earlier,” Mokaev said. “They want to keep Jon Jones [with the record], it’s OK, if that’s their plans what can I do about it?

“I called out everyone. I got a big injury in March and I was ready to fight in August in Boston, but I couldn’t get a ranked opponent. Mick said, ‘I can get you a debutant,’ I said, ‘No, I want a ranked opponent.’ So I had to wait until October for Tim Elliott. If they wanted to do this, they would make it, because I was ready to fight anytime.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Long before Francis Ngannou knocked down Tyson Fury and booked a fight with Anthony Joshua, former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos was often praised as the best boxer in MMA.

Dos Santos always talked about crossing over between sports and hoped that he could land a marquee matchup against a premiere heavyweight, however the Brazilian ultimately never had the chance. But after watching Ngannou drag Fury to a razor-close decision and then pivot right into a fight with Joshua on March 8, dos Santos hopes his fellow ex-champ’s success will open the door for more fighters like himself to get similar opportunities.

“For me, it was exciting, and we are getting closer and closer to the moment that I will do my debut in boxing,” dos Santos told MMA Fighting. “I’m thinking about doing a partnership with Francis so we can beat all of these boxers out there now.

“These guys are beatable. Francis Ngannou proved that. Our style of fighting is different. It’s not usual for them. It’s the real thing. We are going to find a way to beat you up and they are not used to it. The whole world is going to be excited to watch.”

While the official result on Ngannou’s boxing record may be a loss, dos Santos believes the Cameroon native deserved to beat Fury regardless of the judges’ scorecards. Dos Santos attended the fight and then re-watched it again after returning home, and there’s no doubt in his mind that Ngannou should’ve gotten the nod.

As it stands, dos Santos believes Ngannou still walked away as a massive winner no matter what shows up on his résumé.

“Francis won that fight,” dos Santos said. “It’s professional boxing, it’s not amateur boxing that every touch makes a point. No, it’s professional boxing. It’s about effectiveness. It’s about making your opponent walk away. It’s about putting your opponent down on the mat. That’s what Francis did. We could see that Tyson was avoiding the fight. Of course, he’s an amazing fighter, but Francis was the aggressor there. I know that a lot of specialists say Tyson Fury [won], but I think Francis Ngannou won this fight.

“Even if they didn’t give Francis the victory, it was a victory. Everybody saw Francis beat the best heavyweight boxer, maybe in history for what Tyson has done in his career. That was just amazing.”

Dos Santos confesses he didn’t give Ngannou much of a chance ahead of the Fury fight, but he has a much different feeling after watching it. That’s why he’s not discounting the possibility that Ngannou shocks the world again in his upcoming fight with Joshua.

Perhaps the biggest knock on the British heavyweight is that he really doesn’t like getting hit, and that could be a recipe for disaster against a knockout artist like Ngannou.

“It’s a different kind of power,” dos Santos said. “I remember Mike Tyson, his power, he was so powerful and also fast. Francis Ngannou doesn’t have that speed, but in terms of power, I believe he has even more than Mike Tyson had at that time. It’s something really impressive.

“Francis has everything to change the whole fight [with his power], as he did with Tyson Fury. He just needs one punch.”

As much as he wants to join Ngannou in boxing, dos Santos will take his gloves off for his next fight when he meets Alan Belcher in the main event of the Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA card on Saturday. After dispatching fellow UFC veteran Fabricio Werdum in his promotional debut, dos Santos now looks to add another title to his collection in his fight with Belcher, which is for the inaugural Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA heavyweight title.

That remains his sole focus for now, but dos Santos expects that he’ll follow Ngannou into boxing sooner rather than later. He previously called for a matchup against Deontay Wilder, and dos Santos believes that’s still a fight that makes a lot of sense — and perhaps they could share a card with Ngannou after he gets through Joshua.

“I’ve been looking for this boxing fight for a long time,” Dos Santos said. “The big [heavyweight boxing names] were always kind of denying the fights, and the other guys that were possible to happen, it wasn’t really interesting to anybody. I think it’s time to do something like that. If they really do something like that, the MMA world, me and Francis Ngannou will shock the world again. Giving these boxing guys some bad times.

“We are closer and closer to making that happen. That’s my thing and that’s what I feel comfortable doing, especially if we are able to make something like me and Francis on the same card. That would be a big night. The MMA guys against the boxing guys.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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Jake Paul’s promoter duties supersede his glory-seeking tonight (Sat., Mar. 2, 2024) when star client, Amanda Serrano, defends her Featherweight belts against Nina Meinke in “The Real Deal’s” native Puerto Rico.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of Jake Paul vs. Ryan Bourland right here. The DAZN broadcast (watch it here) kicks off at 7 p.m. ET, with Paul and Bourland likely to make the walk around 9 p.m. ET. Bet on boxing at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Paul, for his part, battles 10-year veteran Ryan Bourland in the co-feature. This marks his second consecutive fight against a career boxer, having previously smoked Andre August in Dec. 2023.

The evening’s other major attraction sees WBO Light Flyweight champion, Jonathan “Bomba” Rodriguez, who saw illness scrap a long-awaited unification clash with division kingpin, Kenshiro Teraji, take on mandatory challenger Rene Santiago in his first fight since 2022.

Serrano Vs. Meinke Quick Results:

Amanda Serrano vs. Nina Meinke
Jake Paul vs. Ryan Bourland
Jonathan Gonzalez vs. Rene Santiago

Paul Vs. Bourland Round-By-Round Updates:

Cruiserweight: Jake Paul vs. Ryan Bourland

Round one:

Round two:

Round three:

Round four:

Round five:

Round six:

Round seven:

Round eight:

Final result:

For more on “Paul vs. Bourland” and other boxing-related events, click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Take a close look at Saturday’s seemingly inconsequential APEX event and you’ll find at least two fights with serious title contender implications.

No, that doesn’t refer to the UFC Vegas 87 headliner between heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Gaziev. It will be fun to watch those two wail on one another for as long as that one lasts, but the highs stakes are elsewhere on the main card with Alex Perez taking on the undefeated Muhammad Mokaev and Umar Nurmagomedov putting his perfect record on the line against UFC newcomer Bekzat Almakhan.

Mokaev has made all the right moves since turning pro in 2020 following a distinguished amateur career, winning his first 11 fights (excluding one no-contest) and getting off to a 5-0 start in the UFC. Should he impress against Perez, a one-time title challenger, the stars could align for him to step into the UFC 301 main event on May 4 and challenge Brazilian flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in Rio de Janeiro.

The urgency isn’t quite the same for Nurmagomedov, who has to just be happy to compete after fighting just once since the beginning of 2023. Nurmagomedov looks like he could fight for a UFC title yesterday, but instead he’s staying busy by facing the dangerous Almakhan in a matchup from which he has little to gain and plenty to lose.

Five fighters enter Saturday’s card with undefeated records and there’s added pressure on Mokaev and Nurmagomedov to deliver.

What: UFC Vegas 87

Where: UFC APEX in Las Vegas

When: Saturday, March 2. The six-fight preliminary card begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by a five-fight main card at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings)

Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15) vs. Shamil Gaziev

There are more important fights on this card, but if the UFC is looking to end Saturday’s show with a bang, they probably made the right choice. Jairzinho Rozenstruik has proven that he can end fights in seconds, and Shamil Gaziev has made it his mission in life to never go past the midway point of Round 2.

Rozenstruik is the obvious choice to win a standup battle, as we’ve seen him execute against a higher level of competition compared to Gaziev’s opponents. This is heavyweight MMA so anything can happen, but I have Rozenstruik’s hand speed giving him the edge over the more winging shots of Gaziev. Though Gaziev has some nice boxing in close, it’s usually not wise to hang with Rozenstruik in the pocket for too long.

I fully expect Gaziev to push the pace early, probing for a weakness in Rozenstruik’s defenses. I’d be surprised if Gaziev doesn’t at least hint at a takedown to throw Rozenstruik off of his game, and should he commit to wrestling, there’s a path to victory for him there. For the purposes of this pick, though, let’s say Rozenstruik keeps this one on the feet and lands a finishing blow in the second half of Round 1.

Pick: Rozenstruik

Vitor Petrino vs. Tyson Pedro

Speaking of fast finishes, who wants to bet that the top two fights on this card don’t take longer than a combined five minutes? Vitor Petrino and Tyson Pedro are here for a good time, not a long time, as they say.

It’s easy to see why Petrino has yet to taste defeat so far. He does everything with force, whether it’s throwing heavy punches from range or timing his hooks to catch circling opponents. He’s not afraid to grapple either, and if he can wear you down to set up a finish later, all the better.

Pedro is a devastating finisher in his own right. He’s had some consistency issues over the years, but he’s definitely matured as he’s grown up inside the octagon, and his power and athleticism make him a constant threat to shut someone’s lights off. His right hand is absolutely lethal, and a tool that Petrino and his team better have well-scouted.

In the end, Petrino’s ability to mix the martial arts should allow him to dictate the pace of this fight, and that will be key to avoid the upset. Petrino would be wise to frustrate Pedro with clinch work early before letting his hands and feet fly in the latter part of the opening round. Pedro might survive that flurry, but the fight won’t go far into the second round before Petrino finds Pedro’s chin and puts him down.

Pick: Petrino

Muhammad Mokaev (11) vs. Alex Perez (12)

Muhammad Mokaev is getting closer and closer to the finish line. Can he avoid being tripped up by Alex Perez?

If there’s been one knock against Mokaev in his fights, it’s that he heavily emphasizes control over impact. It hasn’t hurt him too much, because when he’s controlling a fight with his wrestling, there isn’t much the other guy can do about it. Yes, there’s been the stray submission attempt here and there, but for the most part Mokaev’s safety-first strategy has kept him out of trouble and firmly in the win column.

Should Perez go for broke early, it could be just the trick to surprise Mokaev and send him to his first loss. On the other hand, it could also spell Perez’s demise as he’s a classic glass cannon. If Perez goes with his usual approach, this almost definitely ends in Round 1, though maybe not in the way he hopes.

There are too many questions about Perez’s durability to trust him here, so Mokaev likely wrestles his way to another win either by decision or late submission.

Pick: Mokaev

Umar Nurmagomedov (10) vs. Bekzat Almakhan

All hail the undefeateds!

I fully expect Javid Basharat to be victorious on the prelims, so with this Umar Nurmagomedov pick, it should a perfect five-for-five night for fighters with perfect records.

Look, I’m more than familiar with Bekzat Almakhan’s work. In fact, he’s been featured prominently in Missed Fists on more than one occasion. He’s been UFC-ready for some time and I’d comfortably favor him against plenty of names on the roster. Nurmagomedov just isn’t one of them.

Pound-for-pound, Nurmagomedov might be the most fundamentally flawless fighter in the UFC right now. When he first joined the promotion, he was frequently described as “Khabib with better striking,” and that’s not far off. The scary thing is — and we saw this with the sharp left hand that knocked Raoni Barcelos out cold in his last fight — even Nurmagomedov doesn’t fully understand how good he actually is (or can be).

Almakhan also brings a well-rounded game to this fight, so there’s a strong chance this isn’t a cakewalk for Nurmagomedov. If anything, this could evoke memories of Arman Tsarukyan’s debut against Islam Makhachev, in which the newcomer lost a clear decision but presented a firm challenge to the more well-known fighters. Like Tsarukyan, I see Almakhan moving on to big things regardless of Saturday’s outcome.

That outcome will be a Nurmagomedov victory and another reminder that he could already be the best fighter in the loaded bantamweight division.

Pick: Nurmagomedov

Matt Schnell vs. Steve Erceg

First off, can we mention how miraculous it will be if Matt Schnell and Alex Perez actually manage to compete on the same card? Between the two of them, they’ve seen countless fights fall through, including multiple bookings against each other, and the fact that we might see them both step into the octagon on the same night is kind of mind-blowing.

Steve Erceg is the definition of unassuming. He’s not some jacked uber-athlete, he’s not likely to rush across the cage for a 30-second knockout, and he’s not throwing up flashy submissions off of his back. What he excels at is controlled pressure, taking ground inch-by-inch until his target is forced to engage on his terms. He also exudes calm and stays composed even in the hairiest situations.

Those are all attributes he’ll need to overcome Schnell, who has seen it all in his 12-year career. “Danger” is always looking to finish, and we could see some exhilarating scrambles if this one hits the mat. I favor Erceg in the grappling, if only slightly and only because I think the action will tilt in favor of the younger fighter as the fight progresses.

Erceg could eventually run into a flyweight whose talent he can’t overcome with his skill and guile, but his run of good fortune should continue against Schnell. The Australian wins on points.

Pick: Erceg

Preliminaries

Eryk Anders def. Jamie Pickett

Vinicius Oliveira def. Bernardo Sopai

Javid Basharat def. Aiemann Zahabi

Christian Leroy Duncan def. Claudio Ribeiro

Ludovit Klein def. A.J. Cunningham

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady def. Loik Radzhabov

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Octagon icon Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson made more money from one fight than most make throughout their entire mixed martial arts careers.

Challenging then-light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 in May 2007, ‘Rampage’ caught ‘The Iceman’ on the chin with a vicious right hook just 90 seconds into the bout. Following it up with some ground-and-pound strikes, the contest was quickly called off and Jackson was declared the winner at the 1:53 mark of the very first round.

But it wasn’t just UFC gold that Jackson left with that evening. He also took home a big f*cking check.

“They gave me a crazy pay-per-view deal because they knew they weren’t going to do pay-per-view and then Dana White and the UFC bought my contract,” Jackson said on the JAXXON Podcast, referring to the UFC buying out his contract from the WFA in 2006. “So when I fought Chuck, I made millions. I made about $ 7 million on the Chuck Liddell fight. But then they figured out my pay-per-view numbers were crazy so my next fight when I fought Dan Henderson, was on TV. They didn’t want to give me pay-per-view.”

When ‘Rampage’ signed with the World Fighting Alliance he was entitled to a large cut of pay-per-views, though it was a non-issue for the promotion as WFA did not produce PPV events. However, when the UFC bought out Jackson’s contract along with other WFA assets, he was still entitled to the PPV percentage promised to him, which netted him $ 7 million from the Liddell fight — bonuses and sponsorship deals withstanding.

The buyrate for the Liddell fight was reportedly 675,000. With an average UFC PPV price of $ 40 at the time, that would mean Jackson was entitled to roughly 25% of the PPV revenue leaving 19% for the promotion as 56% automatically went back to the cable providers.

It’s no wonder why Jackson’s next fight aired on Spike TV instead of on PPV.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts