Muhammad Mokaev has declared that he won’t ever again make such a drastic move up in weight after Arman Tsarukyan choked him unconscious in Brazil.
The Brave CF flyweight champion is totally unbeaten within the cage, but competes at 125lb. Nonetheless, when Tsarukyan’s rematch with Georgio Poullas was moved to the March 28 RAF Wrestling event, Mokaev stepped in on just just a few days’ notice to maintain the UFC lightweight on the cardboard.
Nonetheless, after a solid eight minutes of defensive work, the dimensions difference became an excessive amount of for Mokaev and he was caught in a rear naked choke. He refused to tap out, and because of this ended up being put to sleep altogether.
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Muhammad Mokaev moving back down in weight after Arman Tsarukyan mismatch
Since his amateur days as a teenager, Muhammad Mokaev has all the time been dominant in MMA. He even went undefeated during his run with the UFC, only being released as a result of issues with matchmakers outside of the octagon.
He did lose a split decision at ADXC in 2024, but Wednesday night’s defeat to Arman Tsarukyan was his first legitimately devastating defeat since likely his childhood. And he was visibly emotional leaving the cage in footage shared by Red Corner MMA.
Nonetheless, he appeared to have found the funny side after the very fact, writing on X that he can be returning to his rightful division as soon as possible. “Back to flyweight,” he wrote, together with a laughing emoji and a shrugging one. “Never give away 25kg anymore.”
The load difference – even in the event that they were weighing in at their fighting limits – wouldn’t be quite that extreme. Tsarukyan tends to tip the scales at 156lb, while Mokaev is 125lb, meaning a 31lb or around 14kg.
Nonetheless, the Armenian’s weight was not recorded for this bout and was simply marked as ‘X’ on graphics through the broadcast. And the dimensions difference was very evident after they began to have interaction within the ring.
In a later tweet, Mokaev added to the sentiment writing: “Zero excuses. If I get one other opportunity like this in my life, I’ll take [it] many times. Competed against among the best lightweights on 2 days notice, 45lb difference. Win or learn, go on the market and challenge yourself , that’s the message to all youth. See you at the highest!”
After the bout, they were each respectful of each other but Tsarukyan acknowledged that his level of competition would want to enhance, at the least from a size perspective. He proceeded to call out Charles Oliveira for a rematch of their razor-close UFC 300 fight, in addition to controversial black belt Dillon Danis.