UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev’s performance at UFC 286 impressed many fighters and fans in the MMA community. One of those fighters was none other than former multi-division champion Henry Cejudo.
Cejudo uploaded a post where showered praise on the 22-year-old, calling him a ‘new star’.
“The Flyweight division has a new star. His name is Muhammad Mokaev,” wrote Henry Cejudo.
Mokaev replied to the tweet by thanking Cejudo and calling him one of the minds in MMA.
“Thank you Henry! Means a lot coming from one of the smartest guy in the game!”
Muhammad Mokaev had an impressive outing at the UFC 286 event in London, England. ‘The Punisher’ took on Rafel Filho in the prelims of the event. At one point in the fight, Mokaev appeared to be in serious trouble as Filho trapped him in a kneebar. Many believed the 22-year-old would tap out to the submission but Mokaev showed his grit and survived the submission attempt.
Mokaev then pulled off a submission victory via neck crank in the closing seconds of the 15-minute fight. With the victory, ‘The Punisher’ extended his UFC winning streak to 4-0. Mokaev is currently undefeated in his MMA career and has a professional record of 10-0-1.
Muhammad Mokaev shares details about the kneebar attempt by Rafel Filho
After scoring a comeback victory, Muhammad Mokaev made an appearance at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference. During his time there, ‘The Punisher’ spoke about the kneebar attempt by Rafel Filho and how the 22-year-old felt multiple breaks in his knee.
Mokaev added that Filho’s failure to complete the submission gave him confidence and Mokaev admitted that he was willing to suffer a knee-break in order to secure the win.
“I’m flexible. There were like three-four cracks. And [Rafel Filho] thought I was gonna tap, so he relaxed a little bit. He look at me and then Herb Dean say, ‘He didn’t tap.’… And then he re-joined the grip, like a choke position, but even stronger… In my head, I was waiting until my knee rips. In my head, I thought like it’s nearly coming out and then when I stand on the knee, I’m like, ‘My knee gone.’ I grab him. In my head, I was talking like, ‘I broke his heart. He didn’t finish me in a position where he’s like a balck-belt… I broke him,” said Muhammad Mokaev.
Check out Mokaev’s comments below:
