The former UFC flyweight contender is desperately trying to mend fences with management after they announced they weren’t going to offer him a new contract.
Muhammad Mokaev is in a very strange place right now, career-wise. The 24 year old flyweight is 13-0 and has the potential to be a future champion. But it won’t be with the UFC, because they decided not to re-sign him after he fought out his contract at UFC 304.
Not only did they let him go, they buried him on the way out. Mokaev previously claimed UFC matchmakers had complained to him about his wrestling-heavy fighting style. But UFC CEO Dana White stated “It’s a lot more than just that,” when announcing Mokaev’s departure.
“The matchmakers aren’t big fans of his for many different reasons,” he said.
⚡️Muhammad Mokaev asked Hunter Campbell to fight for free in his next fight. Also, he saying he learnt his lesson and wants come back to the UFC.
@MMAJunkie ▫️ pic.twitter.com/knOjdwuQ24
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 3, 2024
Mokaev caused a big stir during UFC 304 fight week after he sucker-punched his opponent Manel Kape at the fighter hotel. The two continued to nearly brawl at every opportunity for the next few days … only to have a terrible fight in the cage.
Was that the last straw for UFC management? Mokaev seems to think so. In a new interview with MMA Junkie he said he’d offered to fight for free to make amends.
“I said to Hunter Campbell, whatever I’ve done at the hotel, I’m ready to pay for that and fight my next fight in the UFC for free,” he said. “Whatever trouble I make, I think it’s unprofessional, but it’s something that was in my heart for a long time – I had to get rid of it. And I think I’ve taken a big lesson. I want to come back to UFC and hopefully I will be back.”
There were rumors that the real source of strife with Mokaev stemmed from him fielding offers from PFL. Mokaev denied any talks and suggested someone was passing false information to White.
Abu Dhabi pic.twitter.com/aE3G4SNIZl
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) August 4, 2024
“I think between Dana there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said. “I don’t know where he got this PFL talks … I think someone does something behind my back, it’s not going to come out of nowhere with PFL.
“I don’t even see competition between the PFL and UFC,” Mokaev added. “The UFC is the best organization in the world, and I never spoke to the PFL. They don’t even have a flyweight [division], so I don’t understand. Even at the post-fight interview, I asked for a new contract because I want to fight the best in the world.”
Mokaev was in Abu Dhabi to watch UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov, but there’s no hint that he’s managed to soften the UFC’s clearly negative opinion of him. That leaves him with few good options, which may be why he’s working so hard to make peace with his former promoter.
Jasmine Jasudavicius is looking for fighters with “low numbers” next to their names as she climbs the UFC flyweight ladder, which would include Erin Blanchfield.
Jasudavicius recently defeated Fatima Kline at UFC Denver, who coincidentally enough, is Blanchfield’s teammate. With Jasudavicius originally set to face a top-10 opponent before Kline subbed in on short notice for her octagon debut, she believes Blanchfield would check off all the boxes.
“I like it,” Jasudavicius said on The MMA Hour. “I think it’s possible. I mean, why not? Her team already studied to fight me, so let’s just set it up.”
Blanchfield recently suffered her first octagon defeat, losing a lopsided unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot in the main event of UFC Atlantic City in March. Jasudavicius said she already had her initial booking with Viviane Araujo at the time of that fight, so she knows she watched Blanchfield’s losing performance, she just doesn’t have a strong memory of it.
“I remember watching the fight, but when I’ve got a fight booked, I kind of don’t pay attention to anything else,” Jasudavicius said. “Now that I’m free, out of camp, I can catch up on everything, see who I’m going to call out next.
“She’s obviously a good option. I remember her being on the radar before, so we’ll see what Mick [Maynard] has in store for me.”
Jasudavicius is currently ranked No. 14 in UFC’s flyweight rankings, and Blanchfield would be a great opportunity to get to the top five. Whether it’s Blanchfield or another ranked fighter, the Canadian veteran is ready for the phone to ring for whatever comes her way.
“I heard there’s a card coming to Canada in November, that would be awesome,” Jasudavicius said. “Literally, I didn’t take any damage — got a little black eye, a scratch — but I can turn around and I can fight again next month, or next week. So we’ll kind of see. I’ll take a couple of days and we’ll see what the team says, but I don’t know. I’m ready to jump on opportunities.”
MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards.
With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.
In recent days, a few notable fights were made official by the UFC or reported by reputable sources. For more information on those matchups, check out the links below:
José Aldo vs. Mario Bautista – UFC 307 (October 5)
Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira – UFC 307 (October 5)
Chris Curtis vs. Kevin Holland – UFC 307 (October 5)
Carla Esparza vs. Tecia Pennington – UFC 307 (October 5)
Despite a back-and-forth war that ultimately won Fight of the Night at UFC 303, the 15-year veteran just didn’t feel like he had the performance he wanted against Cub Swanson. When it was over, the judges ultimately scored the fight as a split decision, with Fili edging out the win.
While there were some good moments for Swanson in the fight, Fili still feels he did more than enough to secure the victory, even as he wallowed in disappointment for how he performed that night.
“I’m really happy with the win,” Fili told recently The MMA Hour. “I believe I won the fight. I actually went back and watched the fight and it was less close than I think people were saying. It was less close than I even felt, and when I got done with the fight, I felt confident that I won the fight.
“I landed the cleaner shots. I dictated the pace of the fight. I controlled range even though he was closing in. I’m dealing with a crafty, tricky, awkward dangerous veteran and I’m controlling every minute of the fight. I know I did enough to win the fight, but I didn’t perform to the level that I wanted to perform at.”
Regardless of the win, Fili admits he was down in the dumps initially, but his coaches and even UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby told him he was crazy to feel bad about that fight.
Fili says he’ll always express his true emotions after a fight, and in that moment, he was really displeased with his showing against Swanson.
“I was incredibly unhappy,” Fili said. “This is the thing — a lot of people might not come out and admit this, but I can’t fake the funk. If you like me, I appreciate it, and if you don’t like me, I understand, there’s plenty of things not to like. F*ck you, but I get it. But you’re always going to get me. It’s always going to be me. I can’t fake the funk. I can’t come out there and be like, ‘I’m the f*cking man.’ The truth is if I feel like that after a fight, where I feel like I’m the best ‘45er in the world — because I do believe that — if I feel that way after the fight, I’ll say it.
“But if I feel after the fight that I didn’t perform to the best of my ability, I’ll say that too. I just keep it real. I’m always going to give people the authentic version of myself. That’s how I felt. I got done with my fight and all my coaches are like, ‘What the f*ck is wrong with you?’ I’m just not happy with myself.”
It wasn’t until he returned home that Fili forced himself to watch the fight to assess his performance after letting his emotions cool off for a couple of days.
That’s when he was finally able to gain a new perspective on the fight.
“I was f*cking dreading watching,” Fili said. “I didn’t want to watch it. My girlfriend Melissa was like, ‘Put the fight on,’ and I was like, ‘I would really rather sit here and watch Bob’s Burgers and each chips and salsa and f*cking Mochi and relax and not watch this.’
“Shout out to my girlfriend Melissa, she goes, ‘Put the f*cking fight on and watch it.’ So I put the fight on and watched it, and halfway through the second [round], I look at her and I’m like, ‘Not that bad! We did alright. Cub is f*cking hard to fight.’
Because he has such high expectations every time he completes, Fili can’t reconcile with a less than stellar night at the office, which is how he felt once UFC 303 was done.
A little bit of distance and perspective from the fight helped, but Fili still knows he’s capable of so much more.
“I wanted a dominant win,” Fili said. “I did enough to win and I think the judges got it right. But I wasn’t happy with myself after the fight. I’m my own hardest critic. I was in my head after the fight. I was really frustrated with myself. I was really disappointed. I felt a little ashamed. Just being candid, I felt ashamed. I felt I had let myself down a bit with my performance.
“Now that gone back and watched the fight twice, I’m actually pretty happy with the performance but in the moment, I was really down on myself.”
If it's not apparent, this was in regard to Dana suddenly having an issue with the judge who he attended high school with overseeing the UFC fighters lawsuit, and Amy Kaplan is a shameless, Powerslap-promoting journalist who is in Dana's good graces.
Amit Elor | Photo by Kadir Caliskan – United World Wrestling/Getty Images
The United States is sending one of its best-ever wrestling teams to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, and a 20-year-old phenom could be the biggest favorite to capture gold.
Already crowned as the youngest American to ever win a wrestling World Championship when she was only 18, Amit Elor seeks to add to her long list of accolades when she sets foot on the mat as the top-ranked athlete at 68 kg. Winning at the Olympics would make Elor the youngest woman wrestler to ever capture gold.
If she had been born one day earlier (her birthday is Jan. 1, 2004), Elor could’ve potentially represented America at the 2020 Olympics, but more time and experience now has her on the precipice of an Olympic gold medal. The weight of those expectations could crush a young athlete, but Elor has been waiting for this moment her entire life.
“I don’t know if you call it imposter syndrome, but I’ve gone and I’ve won so many big competitions, but I don’t really feel very different,” Elor told MMA Fighting. “I think some people might say that’s what contributes to an athlete being consistent and continuing to be successful. I don’t feel too different even after the titles that I have earned.
“I think that helps me stay driven towards the next goal, the next competition. I don’t think I can feel too different after a competition. Not yet at least. We’ll see how the Olympics go.”
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Just because she’s favored to win doesn’t mean Elor is taking anything for granted headed into her first Olympic match, which takes place Monday.
Wrestling can be a completely unpredictable sport, and one wrong move could mean the difference between a pin or being pinned. Elor understands that her status as a two-time World Champion puts a big target on her back, which is why she’s making sure there are no shortcuts taken in preparation for any Olympic matches.
“Those two World Championships have really helped me,” Elor said. “I have a lot more experience and I’m able to handle the pressure better, and I’m used to being on that world stage. But however, the Olympics is once every four years and there is a lot of pressure with that. But I tell myself I can’t be so focused on the fact that it’s once every four years because if I get so focused on the stress of the situation, I might not be able to perform in the first place.
“I tell myself, why stress over [something when] I can’t change the situation? I just have to go out there and do my very best. I think that helps me clear out some of the pressure. You do see a lot of upsets at the Olympics. You have previous world champions go in and they don’t even medal. It’s different. I think everyone has a different mentality going into the Olympics, even if it’s the same brackets, the same wrestlers, but there’s something different about it because of that pressure.”
Wrestling at 68 kg. in 2024 puts Elor in elite company when it comes to the U.S. team as she takes over the weight class once ruled by Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who claimed the gold medal at the 2020 Olympics. Mensah-Stock opted to sign with WWE to pursue a career in professional wrestling after the Olympics, which opened the door for Elor to take over after winning the World Championships at 72 kg.
Elor hasn’t skipped a beat in her new weight class, and she takes her role seriously as she seeks to carry on the legacy that Mensah-Stock left behind.
“I feel like I have a huge responsibility being in this weight class,” Elor said. “To carry over the role and the power that Tamyra had for all of us. She has been, just like Helen [Maroulis], a huge role model for me.
“So it’s crazy to be in her spot. It feels like it’s a huge responsibility to go out there and represent at that weight for her.”
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While she’s favored to win, Elor is still the youngest member of the American wrestling team — joined by fellow 20-year-old Kennedy Blades, who is four months older — but she has plenty of people looking out for her.
She counts one-time UFC title challenger and Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann as her head coach, and there’s plenty of experienced medal winners surrounding Elor on the team. That means there’s been no shortage of wisdom being shared with Elor as she embarks on her mission for gold.
“I say throughout the past two years, I received butt-loads of advice,” Elor said with a laugh. “I’ve been on World teams with Helen, with Tamyra before she moved to WWE, and Adeline Gray. Just being on the same teams with them, traveling with them, being around them for weeks and weeks, I’ve received a lot of advice.
“Not just that, but observing them from the side and seeing how they carry themselves and how they train and what they did to prepare. Just witnessing that has helped me, and I’ve learned a lot from that.”
If there’s a downside to her immense success in wrestling at such a young age, it’s that Elor rarely gets the chance to just be a regular 20-year-old.
While most people her age are a year or two into college, going to parties and just enjoying their youth, Elor sacrificed all of that for the chance at setting records that may never be broken. There are times when Elor wishes she could just act her age, but then she remembers why she started wrestling in the first place.
“There’s times that I go to practice and I ask myself, why am I doing this?” Elor said. “Because there’s just so many other things that I wish I had time to do. But at the same time, I tell myself nothing is more worth it than embracing the grind and the preparation for this.
“I know that feeling after a big competition when you really had to dig down deep to get through everything, the preparation, the competition itself, and you just feel so proud of yourself, and you’re like, ‘I’m so happy I did that. I’m so glad I didn’t give up and I pushed through.’”
Elor kicks off her Olympics run on Monday when she faces No. 1 ranked Buse Cavusoglu Tosun from Turkey, who she pinned in just 44 seconds when they met in the quarterfinals of the World Championships in 2022. Watch that match below:
Elor drew the number #1 seed in the 68kg Olympic bracket, who she pinned at the 2022 World championships.
You can watch the entire match in the video below. pic.twitter.com/ealdFdC3xf
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