UFC recently let one of its fighters go after his contract ended, Muhammad Mokaev. However, fighters like Aljamain Sterling believe this was a bad idea.
Mokaev is an undefeated fighter who won over Manel Kape on Saturday at UFC 304. He has been signed to the UFC and had hoped to get a new deal, but his expectations were cut short. UFC CEO Dana White has disclosed that the fighter will not be offered a new contract to remain in the promotion.
“Yeah, that’s what we tell guys. We tell guys how to fight,” White said of Mokaev. “We’ve been doing this for a long f*cking time. I’m sure one of the matchmakers probably said something to him or whatever. The matchmakers aren’t big fans of his for many different reasons. There’s a lot of people who shoot takedowns in this business, a lot of guys that fight with that type of style. But it’s a lot more than just that.
“He’s not under contract anymore. I think the PFL’s going to get a great undefeated guy. Good luck to him.”
For many, the announcement came as a shock, as the fighter was on a fast track to becoming one of the top fighters in his division. Although he had an altercation with Kape following their battle, fans and fighters believe Mokaev still had a good chance of staying in the promotion. One of the fighters who believed Mokaev deserved better was Aljamain Sterling.
“If you ask me, I think it’s f*cked up,” Sterling told The MMA Hour. “I don’t think there was any real reason to cut him. You can say the piggybacking of the fight at the P.I., but that takes two to tango.
“I know Mokaev was the first one to talk shit. Manel told him, ‘When you see me, keep that same energy.’ He saw him tried to apologise, but Manel told him to keep that same energy. They had a fight, or whatever happened, the scuffle. Fast forward, they had a fight again … and then we saw what happened at the hotel, which is kind of odd to put your arm around someone to take a picture and then sucker-punch them. I think that’s a little bit too low for me. I think that one was very, very dirty.
“Then they fought the way that they fought, which was unfortunate because the whole toe thing with Manel in that fight. Then you’ve got one guy who is undefeated gets cut. It’s weird.”
Mokaev claimed that some UFC executives warned him about his fighting style. He said, “They don’t want to see me keep shooting to take somebody down’.
“You hear that supposedly he was told that if you don’t want to get cut, don’t keep shooting for takedowns,” Sterling said. “I don’t think he really kept shooting for takedowns in the fight against Manel. I thought he fought a really good fight. And I thought both of them brought a really good fight. Outside of the animosity, I thought it was a really good fight. If you saw the animosity and thought it was going to be a crazy barnburner, these guys were going to be just throwing down, standing in the middle Max Holloway style, but that didn’t happen. It was very technical. I still thought it was a good fight.
“You always want to be exciting. I think people kind of get it a little twisted thinking that guys come out wanting to have a boring fight. We all want to have an exciting fight. Sometimes you’ve got to fight certain styles differently than you would a different style.”
“You’ve kind of got to just do what’s best for you,” Sterling said. “Mokaev is [24] years old. It’s unfortunate that he got cut for that. I don’t think that was necessary. He more than deserved another chance and I think if he goes on the regional circuit and wins one fight, or if they just bring him back right away, it gets odd. …”
