UFC 331: Muhammad Mokaev vows to return to UFC after controversial release

You only need one look at Mokaev’s record since July 2024 to understand how determined he is to make his way back to the UFC.

Few fighters on the planet have been more active than the flyweight, who has competed eight times over the past two years.

Since leaving the promotion, he has finished opponents with chokes, body kicks, head kicks and punches, while also winning titles in Brave CF and ACBJJ.

Yet it has not been enough to catch the attention of UFC matchmakers Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby.

Although Mokaev is in a WhatsApp group with Campbell and Shelby, he believes the UFC is constantly moving the goalposts.

“Hunter made me a promise. They basically wasted two years of my life,” Mokaev explained. “That’s how I feel right now. I don’t think what they are doing is right.”

Mokaev says he was also offered $10,000 (£7,399) to compete in UFC BJJ, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition, against bantamweight champion Mikey Musumeci.

Despite finding the proposed fee deeply insulting, he was willing to face the five-time world champion if the UFC offered him a contract afterwards.

“They said, ‘no, this is different. BJJ is different. This is different. We have other plans.’ I told them where to go,” said Mokaev, who admitted his response to the UFC contained several expletives.