The competitive bout, which was part of the event’s main card, went all three rounds, with the judges giving the undefeated 23-year-old British fighter a 29-28 unanimous decision three times.
The most striking moments of the match were Mokaev’s attempt to finish the American at the end of the first round, as well as a spectacular back body shot in his performance in the third five-minute period.
Perez successfully defended against his opponent’s translations for most of the fight, stopping sixteen of nineteen tekdown attempts, and significantly outstripped Mokaev in terms of control time in the clinch by repeatedly covering his passes and holding choke attempts.
In a post-fight interview, Muhammad Mokaev challenged the division’s current champion, Brazilian Alesandre Pantoja, who promised to give the Dagestan native a title shot if he defeated Perez.