When Mokaev was 12, his family moved from Buynaksk to Manchester. Over the next nine years, Muhammad, without losing a single fight, became one of the most successful amateur fighters in MMA. Now 21, he is 7-0 in MMA and wants to be the youngest UFC champion in history.
– You have to fight against Charles Johnson (11-2 in MMA, 31 years old). Who will be in your corner?
— My coach from Bahrain Eldar Eldarov, Dean Garnett, my first coach, and Jess, my close friend.
– You have said many times that you would like to become the youngest UFC champion. While Jon Jones holds the record (won the belt at 23 years 8 months), do you have a timetable in mind where you will have to fight to beat him?
– We have a date – end of March 2024. And in March every year there are tournaments in England. As a result, on that date, I have to fight in London for the belt. This year I want to make 3-4 fights, if I am active, everything is possible.
– “End of March 2024” – did you calculate when you had to become champion to pass Jones?
– Yes.
– It seems to me that sometimes 20-21-year-old guys just burn out psychologically if they fight with 30-somethings, especially in big fights.
– And I have every big fight. I am young. There are a lot of hopes for me. Belt or no belt, and the pressure will be the same. But I competed a lot among amateurs: in jiu-jitsu, in boxing, in wrestling, in all amateur sports. Played every weekend, no matter if he wins or loses. I just wanted to gain experience in competition, it doesn’t matter if it’s the UFC or the finals [любительского] World Championship. It seems to me that fighting in the World Championship final is like going for the belt in the UFC.
Imagine yourself at 21-22 against the champion Deiveson Figueiredo who is 34 years old and 21-2 in MMA.
– My last opponents were 30 years old. The current one is about the same. I fought with Pantozha, #4 in my division. And I can say that I can confidently face such fighters. I fought with older guys who weighed between 66 and 70 kg.
– Is that you trained with men as a teenager?
Yes, yes, it happened often. i have in [подростковом] age, there were no guys in the room who would give me competition. And I always got up with adult couples. It is clear that not with the most experienced, but still. And I gained both experience and psychological confidence. The only difference was that they had drugs. Well, purely physically, and now I’m not inferior to anyone.
What could be the age difference?
– I think at the age of 14-15 I fought with 26-27 year old guys.
– You just turned around, and I noticed that your ear is very powerful even for a wrestler. How long have you been broke?
Yes, it’s a door.
– You can always use an iron.
– Yes, it’s a pity. By the way, I even tried to pump the liquid in the one on the left, after breaking the one on the right, because it’s not very beautiful, in England everyone looks. But it didn’t work out, then I flew to training camp and broke there.
– The wrestlers say that abroad people are much more afraid when they see such ears. Really in England people don’t understand what it is?
– There are few, but rugby is very popular in England. I’m short for rugby, so people wonder where that ear came from.
– You said you are a Manchester City fan, because you know footballer Zinchenko, but the last photos you have are in a United t-shirt (Mokaev lives in Manchester – approx. “TV Match”). Which club do you support on the day of the derby?
I support Manchester United. When City play I just go to the games, but I’m for them, not for the whole team.
So it doesn’t matter to me at all. If it’s a derby, the main thing is that he doesn’t get hurt, that’s all. I’m not exactly a rabid fan. The stadium is ten minutes from my house, I go to the matches.
– Which game was the most memorable you saw live?
– Manchester United played with Arsenal, it seemed to be in November. Ronaldo scored. It was a good game.
Which player would you take with you into a fight?
– Zidane.
“After the Materazzi incident?
– I would beat everyone with my head.
– Being a Caucasian person, do you understand this act on his part (Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materation in the 2006 World Cup final and received a red card)?
– Sure. You can see that he is a typical person, what is personal for him is in the foreground.
– Your weight is not considered very popular in the UFC – do you see this as a problem (weight category up to 56.7 kg, the minimum weight for men in the UFC)?
– I think I can make this weight more popular, because I’m in this division. Maybe it sounds proud, but I gathered a lot of people for my first fight in London. It was enough to be here to see it. I think if you put me in the main fight of the evening, there will be a lot of people here.
– You had two very famous champions in the category: Demetrius Johnson (UFC record holder for the number of title defenses in a row) and Henry Cejudo (the first Olympic champion to become a UFC champion). Who do you think is the strongest as an athlete?
“I always think of Demetrius Johnson. I love him as a person. Did so much for this sport, was #1 p4p.
– You said you know Cejudo, as if he can hang out drunk at parties and even if it’s not always because of the alcohol. And how do you know that?
– Secret agents Mi-6. No, well, there are rumors, I heard about it. I think 70-80% of fighters outside the CIS do this. For them it’s normal, but for us it’s crazy. They get high.
You said you did well in chemistry when you were in college. How well do you know this subject?
– Yes, I graduated from college and only then moved to MMA. Parents often said that it was necessary to concentrate on another job. Because they grew up like that: studies, university. It seemed to them that if you play sports, you will not be able to support your family. But that was at other times, when if you don’t win the Russian championship, you won’t get a salary. And when you live in Europe and you are the best 57 kg fighter in the whole country, you understand that you will bring home bread anyway.
– You said that your mother is a teacher of Russian and literature by profession. Have you ever read anything from the Russian classics: Lermontov, Dostoyevsky, Nekrasov? At least as a punishment.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard all these books. Don’t read. Of course, there were such conversations, but I haven’t read those books.
– One of the main topics today is the words of tennis player Kasatkina about changing Russian citizenship. You are from Dagestan, but you play under the flag of Great Britain. What do you think of the change in sports citizenship in general?
“Look, people have been plowing since childhood, their goal is to earn money. Maybe someone just wants to be an Olympic champion, because he’s got the money and everything and he’s got just enough medals, but 98% are wrestlers, fighters – they all came here to earn money for their families. If they can’t play, what choice do they have? Of course, playing for other countries. The country either has to provide them (and they don’t provide a lot of them) or solve political problems so that the athletes … and not only the athletes, for example, can go to the tournaments in peace, so that everyone the world gets visas. Let them, not for people to sit and wait.
– It still seems to me that the British flag behind your back does not prevent you from feeling like a Dagestan and always saying something about yourself and your homeland to the rest of the world?
– Of course, it doesn’t bother me. There is no problem with that.
– The UFC only allows the use of the national flag in the outing or photo shoots. If you had the opportunity to go out under the flag of the Republic of Dagestan, would you like to?
– That would be interesting. I wasn’t allowed to do it when I started, but if it’s allowed, I’d like to be the first fighter to do it.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
