“I couldn’t even get up to the toilet,” Muhammad Mokaev explains reason for ‘underwhelming’ performance after hate from fans

At UFC Fight Night 238, Muhammad Mokaev was able to bag a lopsided win over title contender, Alex Perez. However. Mokaev’s title shot aspirations for the flyweight gold, following a lackluster bout has taken fans aback. With more dominant takedowns, Mokaev turned the fight against Perez by 29 to 28 thus advancing to a neat 12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC stat. However, his somewhat stiffy performance is what was concerning.

With the lack of clear contenders to stand up for the hardware, even current champ, Alexandre Pantoja remains confident. Very recently he even visibly doused a 5-0 dominant stat on the current lineup, ringside at UFC Fight Night 237. Last year, Muhammad Mokaev had already voiced his intentions to take a crack at the gold and does yet again. However, the undefeated flyweight weighed in on his stiff performance at UFC Apex, saying:

I don't know what happened...Last night, I had a sore throat, Then, in the morning I was throwing up. My team said, ‘Listen, you’ve been through tougher things in life.’ So I put my clothes on and went for a run...For two weeks, I couldn't even get up to the toilet in my house. 

Muhammad Mokaev told MMA Junkie and others at UFC Fight Night 238 post-fight presser

The fighter confirmed battling symptoms of a staph infection for almost 3 weeks straight. But he went into battle and emerged victorious anyway. Alexandre Pantoja recently nudged in that he wants to compete on May 4 at UFC 301. Mokaev thinks he might end up in that scenario one way or another. However, he knows that it’s with the UFC to sit upon that choice after his UD victory and call for a title shot.

Concurrently, the 23-year-old nudged that no one other than 365lbs G.O.A.T Jon Jones has done 6 back-to-back bouts in just 2 years. Hence he says while it depends on the UFC, he hopes that choices veer soon enough to allow him to gun for Pantoja’s gold.

Muhammad Mokaev calls out his shots after victory at UFC Fight Night 238

Undefeated flyweight phenom, Muhammad Mokaev has a hunch he’s in line next for the title gold. Battling a sore throat and puke, the fighter muddled through clear symptoms of a staph infection; yet he got the job done. He did enough to get the win Saturday against seasoned contender, Alex Perez. And now he accordingly calls for a shot at the promotion’s flyweight title.

Perez proved to be a worthy opponent in the octagon. Mokaev utilized his signature wrestling and German-suplex abilities, adding three momentous takedowns to his name. With subsequent ground-and-pounds, he earned 29-28s across the board attributing to his late but astounding ground control.

And right after, the undefeated flyweight had his pick of the bunch to challenge next. He said:

I'm 6-0 in the UFC, four finishes. [UFC] 301, 10 weeks, I'm ready to fight for the belt...

Muhammad Mokaev during the Post-fight Octagon interview at UFC Fight Night 238

Mokaev also made a case for the gold directly to taskmaster Dana White and UFC CBO and head litigator, Hunter Campbell. Despite admitting to not performing to his fullest, he did bag a decision win. And accordingly, he voiced his interest in matching up with the Brazilian champion on the UFC 301 fight card. Only time will tell if ever such a clash takes shape.

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