“I was emotional” Muhammad Mokaev apologizes to Charles Johnson for the controversial AK-47 callout and middle finger at the weigh-ins
Mokaev and Johnson had a fierce rivalry in the lead up to the fight
Young Muhammad Mokaev proved his place in the UFC by beating former LFA Champion, Charles Johnson, convincingly. The prelim bout saw, Mokaev land a personal record, 12 takedowns, and over 12 minutes of control time in the 3-round fight.
While the two respected each other’s ability by the end, Johnson because he realized that despite age, Mokaev was as fierce a competitor as any, while Mokaev had to grapple with the fact that he might not always be able to finish his opponents, prior to the bout sparks flew all over.
Johnson taunted Mokaev saying he looked like a cartoon character from the Ice Age movies while saying that he fights with his ego. Not to be outdone Mokaev posted a controversial photo of him holding an AK-47 promising to deal with Johnson in London. This was offensive to Johnson, who has lost friends and family to gun violence hence they ended up being the only fighters on the card who almost broke out into a brawl during the weigh-ins.
While the fight was anything but one-sided domination, Mokaev showed immense respect to his opponent and even apologized for the gun-related call-outs in the post-fight press conference.
Related: “This guy is too much”- Muhammad Mokaev slams Paddy Pimblett as a ‘fake scouser’
Muhammad Mokaev apologizes for obscene gestures towards Charles Johnson at the Weigh Ins
On Twitter, after he received flak for the comments he made on Paddy Pimblett not being a good role model, many pointed out his hypocrisy for posting pictures with guns if he considers himself to be a good role model for the youth.
As a result, Mo had to post a clipping from the press conference where he apologized for his actions before the fight. Post a video to his Twitter, the 21-year-old wrote, “About middle finger at the weigh-ins and about AK47, I’m young and I’m human too, I make mistakes but I don’t have an ego to apologise for my mistakes.”
In the clip Mokaev talks about how he felt there wasn’t enough buzz around his fight so he posted a picture of himself he took while holding a friend’s AK-47 while visiting Dagestan. “So I took a picture and posted it saying, ‘see you in London Charles’ like I just try to build the fight, I’m against all this, I’m not a bad boy you know, I’m just a normal guy, from Wiggins, but born in Dagestan, I’m just normal, I don’t wanna threaten anyone”
He then went on to say that he wished to clarify things with Charles in his octagon interview but he wasn’t allowed that opportunity since the event was running late. “I wanted to say this on the microphone inside the cage, ” said Mokaev about his backstage conversation with Charles.
“I want to apologize about putting up my middle finger at the weigh ins, this is not my personality, I got a little emotional because of the crazy week I had, “ said Mokaev about what caused him to provoke Johnson at the weigh-ins and the guilt he suffered after
Also Read: “See if you can Stop me” Muhammad Mokaev openly challenges Charles Johnson to stop his takedowns
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)