Following UFC 304 CEO Dana White told the media that Mokaev, 23, would not be re-signed to the promotion following the completion of his contract. The victory over Kape marked the last fight on Mokaev’s contract with the young flyweight hoping for a new one.

White squashed that at his post-fight scrum.

Dana White says the UFC is not interested in re-signing Muhammad Mokaev following #UFC304

🎥: @Patrick_McCorry pic.twitter.com/hSDhVlbl6h

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) July 28, 2024

  Mokaev had an eventful fight week with multiple altercations with Kape. First at the fighter hotel the two, and their teams, attempted to get at each other.

Team Mokaev & Team Kape got into an altercation at the fighters hotel, possibly due to the earlier rumours of a bloody altercation at the UFC PI🫣 (via @RedCorner_MMA) pic.twitter.com/zA6T0sLgpB

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 25, 2024

Then Mokaev asked Kape for a photo to squash the beef. That turned into Mokaev landing a sucker punch on Kape. Finally at ceremonial weigh-ins the two went at each other to the point that they couldn’t do a face-off and even tried to continue in the back.

Once the fight finally came they had to be held back by security while Bruce Buffer announced the fighters.

Following the bout, which Mokaev took by decision, he told the media he was hoping to return to the UFC.

Muhammad Mokaev hopes the UFC brings him back. #UFC304

Note: This was prior to UFC CEO Dana White’s post-fight scrum.

🎥: @Patrick_McCorry pic.twitter.com/2Xsnu0Bak1

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) July 28, 2024

Following reports that the UFC had opted to not re-sign Mokaev due to the flyweight’s team reaching out to other promotions before his UFC contract was up, White made his announcement at the post-fight presser.

Just a couple days later Mokaev spoke out to squash rumors.

Muhammad Mokaev took to social media to state his case in hopes the UFC will bring him back. #UFC304 pic.twitter.com/c4uYZ6ns5p

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) July 30, 2024

“My dream is to become UFC Champion.

I turn them all down because UFC gave me the platform to put my name out there and earn money to feed my family! btw PFL don’t have flyweight division

All these journalists that make sh*t up are idiots! I hope Dana resigns me, this is my dream to become champion!”, Mokaev wrote in one post.

He continued giving some detail as to how the feud go so bad.

“This is the first time I punched outside the cage, it was more personal

He was the one who head butted 5 days before Perez fight when I went to shake his hand in Vegas! I understand, this is wrong what happen at the hotel and I apologise to the UFC, but there’s some nights I didn’t sleep because someone treated me like that, I never been cheap shot on the streets

I will never let anyone bully me and I never bullied anyone, but whatever happened it happened, I don’t wanna keep going about it but I will take big lesson from it!”

His manager, Tim Simpson, told Damon Martin that rumors of Mokaev’s UFC exit being linked to negotiations with PFL while still under contract were “completely false”.

The UFC has yet to provide an official statement on the matter.

The post Mokaev Speaks Out On UFC 304 Controversy, Hopes To Return appeared first on Cageside Press.

All that aside, there were some big winners on the night, especially in the case of Belal Muhammad and Tom Aspinall. We’ll take a look at what comes next for the title winners and other key players at UFC 304.

Belal Muhammad

People will have to ‘Remember the Name’ now after Belal’s dominant performance over champion and top five pound-for-pound talent Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 main event. In capturing the belt he launches this division firmly into the post-Usman/Colby era. Fresh challengers like Ian Garry, Jack Della Maddalena, and of course Shavkat Rakhmonov await him.

The answer is clear when asking, “What’s next?” Shavkat Rakhmonov is 18-0, has finished every single fight, dominated three top-15 fighters, and is regarded by many as the scariest man in the division at present. Ian Garry and Jack Della Maddalena can fight to see who the next contender is, but Shavkat is undeniable at the moment.

Muhammad’s Next Fight: Shavkat Rakhmonov

Tom Aspinall

The answer for England’s heavyweight champ is also simple; he will fight for the undisputed belt next. Aspinall has already defended his interim belt, which is ridiculous, and he is regarded by many as the true heavyweight champion of the UFC. That title rests with Jon Jones at present, so Tom will fight the winner of the oft-criticized bout between Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic, which will hopefully, finally, be done with later this year.

Aspinall’s Next Fight: winner of Jones/Miocic

Paddy Pimblett

Paddy Pimblett’s biggest win to date came at UFC 304, when he utilized his incredible grappling to triangle choke top-fifteen lightweight King (née Bobby) Green. Pimblett silenced many a doubter and will now enter the rankings himself for the first time, opening a whole new door of opportunity for him and his star power in the UK.

The UFC will want to get Paddy the best possible risk/reward ratio in his next matchup. With Hooker, St Denis, Moicano, and Holloway all occupied, Pimblett may be pushed as high as Rafael Fiziev or Beneil Dariush. Beneil is aging and coming off two knockout losses, so the UFC seems likely to take that route, but as a Muay Thai specialist Fiziev may be more vulnerable to Pimblett’s grappling. Dariush is a formidable grappler.

Ultimately, I think Beneil is the more likely candidate. Fiziev’s return timetable is unknown after his injury, and the UFC have shown time and time again that they are willing to feed Dariush to up-and-comers who they are pushing.

Pimblett’s Next Fight: Beneil Dariush

Gregory Rodrigues

‘Robocop’ earned just the second decision win of his UFC career, third as a professional, by largely outclassing Christian Leroy Duncan on the feet at UFC 304. Rodrigues’ pace and pressure and power are too much for most opponents who are unranked, and that is before we mention his BJJ. Thus, with a three fight winning streak in tow, Rodrigues should face a ranked middleweight next.

Numbers fifteen, fourteen, and thirteen are all booked at the moment, while numbers twelve and eleven are on winning streaks and will not fight down. Then comes Dolidze, Hermansson, and Costa. The first two are coming off one win after a poor run, while Costa has not won since 2022 and has not beaten a fighter currently on the UFC roster. They are both Brazilian, but Paulo Costa vs Gregory Rodrigues has true ‘Fight of the Year’ potential and should be booked expeditiously.

Rodrigues’ Next Fight: Paulo Costa

Arnold Allen

Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen put together one of his best career performances when he comfortably out-struck former GLORY kickboxer and fellow ranked UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze. Many thought Allen would grapple, but he declined to show his well-roundedness and proved he can beat Giga at his own game. Arnold was on a ten fight UFC winning streak when he lost to Max Holloway, so now at 11-2 and soon to be ranked in the top five he should be in for another tough fight.

Really, the choice is not that hard. Yair Rodriguez and Alexander Volkanovski are the only top five featherweights who are available, and nobody really expects the recently deposed champ, one of the greatest of all time, to fight that far down. Yair vs Arnold would be an even stiffer test on the feet for Allen and may even force the Brit to wrestle next time.

Allen’s Next Fight: Yair Rodriguez

The post What’s Next: UFC 304 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards lost a five round unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304. Edwards was on a mythical 13-fight unbeaten streak heading into the title bout, including two successful title defenses. (Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman)

Edwards should fight Ian Machado Garry in his next fight. Although Jack Della Maddalena is ranked slightly higher at #5 compared to Garry’s #7 ranking and would make sense. A fight with Ian makes even more sense. Garry has defeated bigger names with his last four wins being over: Daniel Rodriguez, Neil Magny, Geoff Neal and most recently, Michael Page. Although Garry has been vocal with his callouts of Colby Covington in the past, surely, he could change around his plans for the former UFC welterweight champion.

Leon’s next fight: Ian Machado Garry

Curtis Blaydes

Curtis Blaydes was quickly dropped and finished by interim UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall on Saturday. The co-main event of UFC 304 was over in exactly a minute as Curtis, who entered the fight as the #4 ranked UFC heavyweight, was sent back to the drawing board.

Blaydes has now lost two of his last three fights since defeating Aspinall in the pair’s first fight, back in July of 2022.

The top of the UFC’s heavyweight division is small and crowded. To avoid a rematch with Pavlovich (Who Curtis just fought in 2023), Curtis should fight the winner of Spivac vs. Tybura II. That fight is scheduled to be the main event of a fight card on August 10th. Curtis has not fought either fighter and both Tybura and Spivac have lost to Aspinall.  Tybura is the #8 ranked UFC heavyweight while Spivac is ranked at #9. So Curtis getting the winner of the fight the main event on August 10th makes sense as a ‘rebuilding’ type fight.

Curtis’ next fight: Serghei Spivac vs. Marcin Tybura II winner

King Green

King Green (formerly Bobby Green) was submitted in the first round of his fight against Paddy Pimblett in the people’s main event of UFC 304. Green has now lost two of his last four fights. He’s also been one half of the co-main or main event in two of his last four fights.

King entered the fight ranked as the #15 lightweight even after being with the UFC for over 11 years now.

Green has fought a lot of guys. Avoiding a pointless rematch, a good fight for King Green at this point in his career would be a fight against the winner of Matt Frevola vs. Fares Ziam. That fight is scheduled for September 28. Both men have won three of their last four fights. The winner could be just an impressive win away from a ranking and a name like Bobby could get them there. Or vice versa and Bobby could get right back in the mix at nearly 38-years-old by taking one of these guys out.

Bobby’s next fight:

Christian Leroy Duncan

Christian Leroy Duncan lost a bloody unanimous decision at the hands of Greogry Rodrigues on Saturday. Duncan has now lost two of his last four fights since stopping Dusko Todorovic in his UFC debut last March. His wins are a pair of second round stoppages against Denis Tiuliulin and Claudio Ribeiro.

Duncan’s next fight should be opposite of Brad Tavares. The veteran Tavares has been in the UFC for 14 years now. Plus, Tavares has amassed a record of 15-9 with the promotion. Tavares has lost three of his last four. The win being against former UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, last August. His last time in the octagon was also against Greogry Rodrigues, but he was finished early in the third round. Tavares was supposed to fight Jun Yong Park recently (July 20th), but Park was not medically cleared after weigh ins.

Christian’s next fight: Brad Tavares

Giga Chikadze

Giga Chikadze lost a unanimous decision to Arnold Allen in the main card opener of UFC 304. Chikadze entered the fight as the #10 UFC featherweight while his opponent was ranked at #6. Chikadze has now lost two of his last three fights dating back to his first UFC main event against Edson Barboza in August of 2022.

Bryce Mitchell should be the next fight for Chikadze. #13 ranked UFC featherweight, Bryce Mitchell, has also lost two of his last three fights. However, unlike Giga, Bryce was finished in both losses. Bryce was most recently in action late last year at UFC 296 when he was flatlined by a huge overhand from Josh Emmett in the first round on UFC 296. (Giga was the original opponent for Josh until he tore his groin in training and Mitchell stepped in.)

Giga’s next fight: Bryce Mitchell 

The post What’s Next: UFC 304 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

“The fight against Molly for me was big challenge,” Brasil told reporters including Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum.

“In England, her house, I (imagined my performance) every day. Was amazing.”

Brasil (10-4-1) landed a lot of knees to the body of McCann, but never gave up. Regardless of how much damage she took McCann wouldn’t give Brasil the finish. The Brazilian was ready for that.

“I imagined Molly (wouldn’t) give up. So I trained for three rounds. I trained the knees a lot,” she said.

With a big win in hostile territory against the very popular McCann in such dominant fashion Brasil shot her shot for a bonus.

“I am prepared for the fight. I deserve good things. I deserve the bonus for the fight because I’m (the) underdog. I’m here in Molly’s house England,” she said.

Unfortunately for Brasil she did not earn a bonus at UFC 304, but certainly bigger fights are on the horizon for the strawweight.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Bruna Brasil above.

The post Bruna Brasil Saw Fighting McCann In England As “Big Challenge” appeared first on Cageside Press.

“The worst thing you can do to me is talk smack,” Patterson told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’m nothing but respectful. If you talk smack to me I’m going to make you pay, and that’s what he was doing. I’m not going to lie when they said 100k (bonus) I did think about running out and double footing him in the face, and hoping…worst case comes worse things, I would have just pulled guard.”

Patterson (12-2-1) looks to get in

“Definitely want one more. I want three fights this year. A dream of mine is to fight out in Vegas again. I fought in Vegas on the Contender Series. It’d be nice to go back there and do it in the UFC officially. This is my third PPV now so put me on the PPV at the end of the year. Let me open the card that would be absolutely amazing,” he said.

“To be honest I haven’t looked at anyone in the welterweight division. I’m so focused on myself. I’m earning my stripes in the UFC. I’m not in this position to be calling people out. I think you start doing that when you’re top 15. I’m just getting my foot in the door trying to prove myself.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Sam Patterson above.

The post Sam Patterson Motivated By Trash Talk, Wants One More PPV appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I always knew it was going to be a hard fight against Marcin. He’s one of the very few guys that can throw these extravagant kicks like me,” Bukauskas (16-6) said following the fight, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “Obviously I used more of my boxing in that fight, but it definitely added a whole other layer of trying to prepare.”

“It’s not often that I have a guy that can throw that kind of stuff against me. I had to use other areas of my game, which I was very adamant to show obviously.”

The head kick that caught Bukauskas coming in might have been a wake-up call not to throw caution to the wind. While he didn’t go down from the blow, it was still an impressive kick thrown out of nowhere, and a reminder that Prachnio remained dangerous.

“My corner team were definitely loud to let me know about that, that’s for sure. Kind of, not rush in. At the end of the day, I felt it was a good performance against a very tough guy. Still learning, still getting better,” said Bukauskas, calling the win “something to build off of.”

The arm-triangle choke came in the third round, marking Bukauskas’ first submission victory in the UFC. With UFC 304 marking his first fight of 2024, he’s hoping to get back to work soon.

“I’m hoping, yeah. As long as they clear me and medically and stuff like that, I want to fight as early as possible really. Either October, December, whatever it is. I’ll rest up, heal up, get straight back into training.”

Modestas Bukauskas is on his second stint with the UFC, and admitted on Saturday that “maybe it was a bit premature before to be in the UFC, but not by skill set, just by mindset.”

“Maybe it was a bit premature in terms of me just pulling the trigger when I’m in there,” he would add, while noting that as a Cage Warriors champ, he felt ready to take on the best in the world. Still, the mindset is different now. “Definitely the killer mindset that I have is a lot different. I’m more willing to actually get into a fight, get into a brawl and stuff like this. That sort of warrior mentality is something that you need in fighting.”

Watch the full UFC 304 post-fight press conference with Modestas Bukauskas above.

The post UFC 304’s Modestas Bukauskas Has “Killer Mindset” in Second UFC Stint appeared first on Cageside Press.

Elliot (11-2) had just won his second official UFC bout and was already thinking about what’s next, including walk out song, and maybe a friend to walk him out?

“If they give me the MSG card I might walk out to Hulk Hogan’s song. Or The Rock’s song. Or maybe I get CM Punk (to) walk out with me in MSG,” Elliot told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I know he’d be up for that.”

The victory over Parsons makes it 7-in-a-row for ‘The Welsh Gangster’ with two of those being UFC victories.

“That’s no joke is it, and I’m fighting the best of the best. I’m happy with that. 7 wins in a row. Let’s make it 10, let’s make it 20, I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. I just walked out there and I enjoyed myself tonight,” he told Cageside Press.

“I could go again.”

He seemed to be kidding, and then not kidding, but if Elliot has anything apart from fighting skill it’s a genuine sense of humor. When asked if he would fight again that night on a Alexander Volkanovski type of move Elliot did not disappoint.

“People say I look like Volk on the internet so why not,” Elliot laughed.

“With Bo Nickal’s head. Hey what? I look like that do I? I’m joking.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Oban Elliot above.

The post Oban Elliot Wants On MSG Card, Walk Out With CM Punk appeared first on Cageside Press.

Parkin (10-0) wasn’t yet aware he’d won the bonus while speaking to media members backstage at the Co-Op Live in Manchester on Saturday. He was, however, thrilled with the performance, and finish, against a tough Lukasz Brzeski.

“I thought I was going to strike with him, but we had drilled mixing in takedowns as well. I knew he’d been put down a few times in his fights, and been controlled there. So that was an option,” said Parkin, asked whether standing with Brzeski had been the plan. “But I thought I was doing okay on the feet.”

He certainly was doing okay, though throughout the fight, Parkin still had his ground game in his back pocket. “I knew he was tough and very durable so I thought I would more likely get a finish on the floor, because I felt I was a lot better grappler than him. I felt like I was catching him with good, clean shots then obviously kept it standing and got the finish.”

While it crossed his mind partway through to take the fight to the ground, “I’m glad I didn’t now,” Parkin added.

The win improves Mick Parkin’s record as a pro to 10-0, something of a milestone and magic number in the sport, especially for a heavyweight. Looking to make a fall turnaround, possibly in November, there’s a chance Parkin could headline a card in the near future.

“That would be amazing. Honestly I haven’t thought about it, I just take it as it comes,” said Parkin when that idea was proposed. “I know it’s a fast-track, and it definitely is. And I’m telling you I’ll take my time, and the next fight will probably be a top 15 opponent. But I’m happy with the way I’m going. Let my coach decide all that. If he feels that’s the right thing, that’s the right thing.”

Admitting that he’s still developing as a fighter and learning from his mistakes, Parkin went on to add that “this UK card was amazing. I’m so grateful to be on this, because I feel like everybody wanted to be on this, and to fight on this in front of a home crowd, it’s literally what dreams are made of.”

Watch the full UFC 304 post-fight press conference with Mick Parkin above.

The post UFC 304’s Mick Parkin Expecting Top 15 Opponent Next appeared first on Cageside Press.

Bannon came into the fight with a cut, had her coach whack his head off a camera between rounds, but came away with a split decision win over short-notice replacement Alice Ardelean.

“He’s used to the head shots, I have him well trained,” Bannon (6-1) joked following the fight. The incident came between rounds, when one of her corners, fired up, turned and crashed straight into the camera that had been filming the scene.

Luckily, no one was hurt, and the camera appeared to have survived. Though the cameraman may want to stay a few steps back in future.

“Mama B” kicked off the card in Manchester, notching her first UFC win in the process. While some might shy away from being a curtain jerker, it’s a role Bannon embraced.

“I really wanted to be the first fight on this card, I literally said it from the get-go. And then I was switched to the second one for a period of time, and I was like ‘no I really want to be the first fight.’ So to get the first fight and first win for Ireland tonight is really special.”

Bannon was pulling for fellow Irish fighters Caolan Loughran and Kiefer Crosbie to mimic her success, but unfortunately, things did not go their way.

Heading into the fight, Bannon suffered a cut in training that required stitches, though it shouldn’t keep her from returning to action this year. It certainly didn’t keep her out of Saturday’s fight.

“It’s only a little nick, they put two stitches in. I had stitches in it last week, and it healed up pretty fast. I heal fast,” said Bannon. As for her return, “I’d like to go again before Christmas.”

“The one time I didn’t put Vaseline on my eyes, so it’s just unfortunate,” Bannon added about the cut. “If it wasn’t difficult it wouldn’t be me.”

Watch the full UFC 304 post-fight press conference with Shauna Bannon above.

The post Shauna Bannon Reacts to Coach Hitting Camera at UFC 304 appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I feel like my career was potentially on the line. I stepped up on short notice, took this on a week’s notice, done it for the UFC,” Hadley told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’ve had a bit of…not a great run the last two, but I took this on short notice. All I ask for now is that they get me a fight again before the end of September.”

Hadley (11-3) snapped a two-fight losing streak against a big bantamweight in Loughran. On just a week’s notice the flyweight actually missed the bantamweight limit by one pound.

“I thought I was doing kind of everyone a favor by taking it on a week, but then missing the weight now I’ve just put myself back in even a worse position. The pressure was on. I just went out there and just did my thing,” he said.

Although he fought a 135er Hadley had his eye on a flyweight fight earlier in the night. Muhammad Mokaev scored a decision victory over Manel Kape, but it’s Mokaev who Hadley has had issues with in the past.

“I thought he was boring, but he’s an idiot man. He’s just trying to fight everyone in the back. He sucker punched Manel Kape. He’s a clown man,” Hadley told Cageside Press.

“He tried to start on me on the bus yesterday, but I’ll smash his head in. That idiot. If he wants to come up to 135, I’d even go back down to 125, just to smash his head in. He’s never wanted that fight in his life so whatever. He don’t want the fight and I’d kill him.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Jake Hadley above.

The post Jake Hadley: “I feel like my career was potentially on the line.” appeared first on Cageside Press.