Muhammad Mokaev seemingly settled his bad blood with Manel Kape after an uninspired three-round fight ended with a unanimous decision win for the undefeated flyweight prospect at UFC 304.
After an altercation between the two flyweights at the UFC Performance Institute several months ago and a hotel brawl just days before meeting in the octagon, security flooded the octagon to keep Mokaev and Kape separated until their fight actually began. However, it seems all the energy built into disliking each other expired as soon as the action started, as Mokaev and Kape largely refused to engage during the 15-minute bout.
Mokaev was the more active fighter and did manage a late takedown, although Kape connected with the more impactful strikes. In the end, the judges favored Mokaev, with the scores coming back 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 in his favor for the decision win.
“[I’m] 23 years old, 7-0 in UFC. Give [an ovation] to Manel Kape,” Mokaev said after his latest win. “I’m still young. I’m fighting these veterans. I want a title shot.”
Despite all the tension before the fight started, Mokaev and Kape were incredibly hesitant to actually exchange throughout the opening round. Mokaev seemed comfortable sticking at a distance and just chopping away with kicks, while Kape tried to gauge distance to finally unleash his own strikes.
After stuffing a takedown late in the round, Kape snapped off some quick punches that caught Mokaev looking as he scrambled to escape the potentially bad position.
A quick exchange in the second round saw Kape block a kick, but it appeared he suffered a broken toe as he reached down trying to make an adjustment with Mokaev on the attack. Kape continuously favored the toe on his right foot throughout the remainder of the fight.
The injury allowed Mokaev to advance for a takedown but he grabbed a handful of shorts to control Kape, which forced referee Mike Beltran to pause the action. Beltran vehemently warned Mokaev about the foul and took away the position as the fighters reset in the center of the octagon, but he opted not to take a point away.
Back on the feet, Kape was still hesitant to really let his hands go but stopped Mokaev’s takedown attempts whenever the undefeated prospect attempted to shoot inside. When Mokaev finally got Kape down on the canvas, the flyweights really began exchanging blows.
Mokaev rained down shots from the top, while Kape fired off a barrage of nasty elbows from the bottom before a scramble saw them get back up to the feet again. While he didn’t connect with most of his combinations, Mokaev stayed busy enough with his kicks and continued threatening with his wrestling while Kape clearly favored that toe, which affected his movement throughout the fight.
There’s little doubt it wasn’t the fight that Mokaev wanted, he still got the job done with the unanimous decision. Following the win, Mokaev mentioned that he wants the UFC to sign him to a new contract, as this bout was the final fight of his current deal.
Either way, Mokaev remains a threat in the flyweight division while dispatching another top contender in Kape.
