Former IMMAF World Champion Muhammad Mokaev has signed on with the UFC.
The signing of the 5-0 bantamweight was announced by the promotion on Wednesday. Additionally, the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation sent out a congratulatory press release heralding the signing.
🚨 NEW SIGNING 🚨
🏆 Former @IMMAFed Champ
👊 Undefeated MMA RecordWelcome to the UFC @MuhammadMokaev 🇬🇧
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 17, 2021
The IMMAF’s release quoted Mokaev as saying “I’m very excited to sign with the UFC. I don’t want to be just a UFC fighter, I want to become the youngest champion in its history. Right now, I’m the youngest fighter on UFC’s roster.”
At 21, Mokaev has some time to reach that lofty goal. The current record is held by Jon Jones, who claimed gold at 23 — 23 years, 242 days to be exact.
Prior to turning pro, Mokaev found considerable success as an amateur under the IMMAF program. He spent two years competing with Team UK, and later Team England, and won back-to-back gold medals at the Junior IMMAF World Championships in 2018 and 2019. He also won the 2019 Junior European Open. In 2020, he moved to the senior division, winning gold at the Oceania Open that year.
Turning pro that same year, Mokaev began competing with BRAVE CF, winning four fights, with a fifth ending in a No Contest due to an accidental groin kick. He’s also competed for the Celtic Gladiator promotion, winning both an exhibition and professional bout there.
Born in Dagestan, Mokaev would pick up wrestling and MMA as a youngster, before moving to England at age 12. He clearly had a knack for it — in addition to his undefeated record as a pro, Tapology lists Mokaev’s amateur record as an astounding 22-0.
