Fast facts
- Division: Flyweight (inaugural Brave CF Flyweight Champion); No. 7 at bantamweight in the Knockout Daily rankings
- Record: 17-0
- Nationality: British (born in Buynaksk, Dagestan, Russia; listed as England in our rankings)
- Team/gym: KHK MMA
- Notable wins: Tim Elliott, Manel Kape, Alex Perez, Jafel Filho, Malcolm Gordon, Cody Durden, Jorge Calvo Martin
The first number in Muhammad Mokaev’s story is five. That’s how many pounds a day he and his father were given when they landed in a refugee center in Liverpool. He was 12. His mother had died shortly before they left Buynaksk, the Dagestani town where he was born into a Kumyk family on July 30, 2000. Within a month the two of them had been moved on to Wigan, and that’s the town he still claims. He supports Wigan Athletic and the Wigan Warriors, and he became a UK citizen in 2021.
He’d wrestled a little back in Dagestan without much love for it. That changed in 2013 when he walked into the Manchester Wrestling Club. The kid who didn’t enjoy the sport went on to win four straight British junior titles from 2014 through 2017, wrestled at the 2017 European Championships, and later placed fifth at the 2021 U23 World Championships, which he did while already a pro MMA fighter. He also picked up two ADCC UK titles in the intermediate division of submission wrestling.
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The MMA side started at Kaobon in Liverpool under Colin Heron, and he couldn’t pay for it. So he cleaned the mats to earn his membership. I think about that detail a lot. Every big-gym superstar has a version of the origin story, but very few of them were literally on their knees scrubbing the floor they’d later get famous on.
He had his first amateur fight in November 2015. By February 11, 2017, he was the Taking FC flyweight champion at 16 years old. He then won IMMAF amateur junior bantamweight titles in 2018 and 2019 and stayed unbeaten through the whole amateur run.
Brave, then the call
Mokaev turned pro at Brave CF 37 in Sweden on August 1, 2020, beating Glenn McVeigh by unanimous decision and picking up a Fight of the Night bonus in his debut. One month later, in September, he married Khava Eldarbekova.
The early pro record carries an asterisk he can’t fully scrub off. His second win, a 51-second TKO of Hayden Sherriff at Celtic Gladiator 28, is listed by Tapology as ineligible to count as a professional bout, citing Sherriff’s lack of competitive effort and use of aliases. Sherdog has Sherriff at 0-13 as a pro with every loss in the first round. That one doesn’t tell you anything about Mokaev.
The rest of the regional run does. He choked out Jamie Kelly with a rear-naked choke for another Fight of the Night bonus, stopped Dave Jones in the third round, and outlasted Abdul Hussein in a scramble-heavy decision at Brave CF 49. A low blow ended his Brave CF 51 fight with Ibragim Nazurov as a no-contest in Round 1. He finished Blaine O’Driscoll with a rear-naked choke in Round 2 at Brave CF 54, and on November 17, 2021, the UFC signed him.
Seven up, seven down
The UFC debut was the kind I live for. Cody Durden, March 19, 2022, a guillotine in the first round, Performance of the Night, and a Fan’s Choice Debut of the Year nomination. UFC.com ranked him its No. 3 Newcomer of the Year for 2022.
After that he got patient. He decisioned Charles Johnson at UFC Fight Night 212, then went on a run of late finishes that tells you exactly how he wins. An armbar on Malcolm Gordon in Round 3 at UFC 280. A neck crank on Jafel Filho in Round 3 at UFC 286. An arm triangle on veteran Tim Elliott in Round 3 at UFC 294, which earned his second Performance of the Night. Three straight fights where he dragged guys into deep water and held them under until they stopped kicking.
The numbers back it up. His 51.8 percent control time is the third highest in UFC flyweight history. He absorbed 1.35 strikes per minute, third fewest ever in the division. His four submissions tie Brandon Royval for third most at 125. He’s a chain wrestler who treats the top position like rent he’s already paid.
Then came the last two. He took a unanimous decision over Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238 on March 2, 2024, and another over Manel Kape at UFC 304 on July 27, 2024. That made seven UFC wins in a row, tied with Joshua Van for the third longest streak in flyweight history. Bloody Elbow notes he was ranked in the top five at the time.
The exit
The Kape fight was the end. MMA Fighting called it a lackluster win, and the two had several altercations before UFC 304. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White said “PFL is going to get a great undefeated guy” and that Mokaev’s contract wouldn’t be renewed “for many different reasons.” Pressed later on why, White said, “There was so much bad shit that happened behind the scenes.” He has never spelled out what that was.
Mokaev re-signed with Brave on August 24, 2024. What he’s done since is chaotic, and some of it has gone badly.
At Brave CF 91 on December 13, 2024, Luthando Biko pulled out with health issues days before the event. Joevincent So took the fight on two days’ notice at a 130-pound catchweight, and Mokaev finished him with a brabo choke in Round 1. Filmmaker Will Harris documented that fight week in Beyond the UFC: An Inside Look at BRAVE CF 91, including Mokaev’s training at KHK MMA alongside world champions and Olympic medalists.
The grappling detours have been rough. At the BJJ 247 Manchester Open in March 2024 he was disqualified in his first match for slamming an opponent and then lost his second by submission. At ADXC 6 in October 2024, Raul Rosas Jr. withdrew (Mokaev blamed Rosas Jr.’s UFC contract) and Rogério Bontorin beat him by split decision. He won his Karate Combat debut at Karate Combat 54 on May 2, 2025, with a flying knee.
Then on March 11, 2026, he said yes to something completely unreasonable. On two days’ notice, a flyweight moved up three divisions to grapple lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan at Hype Fighting: Brazil. Tsarukyan choked him unconscious at 7:46 of the first round. It was a loss, and a heavy one. I’d still rather watch a guy take that call than one who protects his record from everything.
A scheduled fight with former ONE Flyweight Champion Adriano Moraes at MVP MMA 1 on May 16, 2026, fell apart when Mokaev withdrew over visa issues, with Phumi Nkuta stepping in. Three weeks later, on June 6 at WOW FC 31, Mokaev needed 42 seconds to stop former LUX Flyweight Champion Jorge Calvo Martin by TKO. That’s his most recent fight, and it put him at 17-0.
Where he stands now
This October, the Farid Basharat situation dragged Mokaev’s name back into the UFC conversation. Basharat, 16-0 with seven UFC wins, wasn’t re-signed, and after UFC Edmonton, White said
