Muhammad Mokaev proved that the hype is real with his debut at UFC London on Saturday.
The highly touted 21-year-old prospect needed just 58 seconds to land a flying knee followed by a nasty guillotine choke to put away Cody Durden with a raucous British crowd cheering on his first UFC win.
Following the win, Mokaev took a shot at Durden by evoking the controversial comments the American made after he earned a win over Qileng Aori in his previous outing.
“I told Cody after this fight, if you talk too much, go to the American embassy and they will take you back to America,” Mokaev said.
It was a blistering performance from the undefeated flyweight as Mokaev came out confident in his striking and firing off head kicks while bouncing around the cage just waiting for his opening.
With Durden sitting back on his heels, Mokaev exploded forward with a flying knee that connected and put his opponent down on the canvas in a flash. From there, Mokaev immediately snatched the guillotine choke. Every movement from Durden only seemed to sink the submission in that much deeper, and the American was eventually forced to tap out.
“It feels amazing,” Mokaev said. “In 2018, I messaged Dana White and I said in four years I’ll be in the UFC. I’m here, I’m about to collect $50,000!”
Now 7-0 with one no-contest on his resume, Mokaev will certainly be a name to watch in 2022 and beyond as he immediately injects new excitement into the flyweight division.
