Muhammad Mokaev will once again fight at home in London, England this March.
The undefeated Mokaev (9-0, 1NC) will face Jafel Filho (14-2) in a flyweight match-up recently added to UFC 286 on March 18, 2023.
ESPN was first to report news of the match-up, with Mokaev later confirming the booking, noting that matchmaker Mick Maynard had told him no one from the top 15 had been available for the event.
UFC Matcmaker Mick Maynard told me that no top 15 available for March 19th so I said give me anyone!
April we have Ramadan , June I gonna start training and I didn’t want to waste time and miss this card!
I tried my best to get top 15 opponent who could get me close to the belt— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) January 16, 2023
The fight will mark the third time in 12 months that Mokaev fights in London, and marks his fourth UFC bout overall. The 22-year old made his promotional debut at UFC London in March 2022, defeating Cody Durden via submission after steamrolling him with a flying knee.
That victory earned Mokaev a Performance of the Night bonus. He returned to the O2 Arena last July, defeating Charles Johnson, then finished off his 2022 with a win over Malcolm Gordon at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
Now it’s back to the O2 once again against Filho, a Brazilian who earned his spot in the UFC on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. The Mokaev fight will mark his promotional debut; Filho currently sits on a five-fight win streak.
UFC 286 will be headlined by Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman in the rubber match of their trilogy, a fight finally announced by UFC President Dana White this past weekend. Justin Gaethje, meanwhile, returns against Rafael Fiziev in the co-headliner. The following match-ups have been reported for the card:
- Leon Edwards (c) vs. Kamaru Usman – for the UFC welterweight championship
- Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev
- Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Lerone Murphy
- Joanne Wood vs. Luana Carolina
- Malcolm Gordon vs. Jake Hadley
- Jennifer Maia vs. Casey O’Neill
- Jai Herbert vs. Ľudovít Klein
- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Gunnar Nelson
- Chris Duncan vs. Michal Figlak
- Veronica Macedo vs. Juliana Miller
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jafel Filho
