The situation between Muhammad Mokaev and the UFC will seemingly go on until the 24-year-old announces his next move but interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has backed Mokaev over the situation.
Following his win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 on July 27, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Muhammad Mokaev would not be given a new contract, despite remaining undefeated and seemingly in position for a title shot.
The UFC boss claimed that the matchmakers told him not to re-sign the 24-year-old prospect, because of the difficulty of dealing with him outside of the Octagon.
Tom Aspinall backs Muhammad Mokaev over ‘unfair’ contract situation
‘The Punisher’ is yet to accept the fact that the promotion is extremely unlikely to re-sign him, and over the weekend, more details have come to light, which back up the UFC’s decision.
PFL boss, Ray Sefo stated following the PFL event this past Friday, that he was not interested in signing the prospect as he has heard he is a ‘pain in the a**’ to deal with.
Ahead of their clash at UFC 304, Mokaev and Kape got into several situations with each other which put their fight in jeopardy, and a few days out, the 24-year-old admitted to sucker punching ‘Starboy’ at the fighter hotel.
UFC interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, has backed Mokaev over the ‘unfair’ decision to not re-sign him but has shed some more light on the fight week antics between the two flyweights.
“I heard some stories about kicking each others hotel rooms when they’re trying to sleep and (trying) to kick the doors down and all that s***, I don’t even know what’s happened but these are rumors,” Aspinall explained in an interview with Carl Froch.
“I think it’s unfair (that they won’t re-sign him) to be honest with you, I think it’s unfair. This has happened before all this beef in the hotel and at the weigh-ins and all the rest of it, it’s not the first time so I think it’s a bit unfair on him just to kick him out indefinitely,” Aspinall continued.
Mokaev’s next move may happen sooner rather than later, though, as responding to a fan on X this past Saturday, the 24-year-old admitted that he is already in contract talks, but didn’t say who with.
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Tom Aspinall reveals how a fight between Makhachev and Nurmagomedov would’ve gone
Following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dominance over the 155lb division and then premature retirement, the division was taken over by his teammate and product of his father’s gym, Islam Makhachev.
Since then, the Russian champion has become one of the most well-known names in the sport as he continues to carry on the legacy of the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov team.
Aspinall joined the debate on how a fight between ‘The Eagle’ and Makhachev would’ve gone, and of course, his opinion is extremely well regarded.
It is considered by many that Khabib has the more dominant wrestling and grappling style, whereas the current 32-year-old champion is the better striker.
“I actually think Islam might take (that fight). I think he’s a bit of a better striker, I think he’s a more dangerous striker. I think grappling-wise they’re very similar but I reckon Islam might take that,” Aspinall claimed.