I deeply regret being excited for Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape.
There were obvious warning signs, but I’ll admit to Fight Week optimism. I enjoy a bit of pre-fight brawling in the Apex. I also have enjoyed Kape’s resurgence since his slow UFC start. The former RIZIN king has the tools to fight for UFC Flyweight gold, and it’s always nice when a fighter starts living up to their potential after struggles. On the flip side, Mokaev has never been one to entertain, but it’s impossibly to deny the 23 year old’s talent. Perhaps a bit of bad blood could draw a fun performance from the Dagestani wrestler?
Wrong!
Every aspect of this fight was infuriating. How do you fistfight on multiple occasions, draw every official in the county into the Octagon to prevent another brawl, then barely do any actual MMA fighting? It was outrageous.
Plain and simple, Kape disappointed me. I thought “Starboy” had turned a corner in his now-extinguished four-fight win streak. In those wins, Kape was initiating more often, which meant he wasn’t behind on the volume game, which meant that opponents were more willing to take chances and walk into his counter punches! This was a complete regression, as Kape watched Mokaev flick — to quote Nick Diaz — “little baby leg kicks” at him with no response. Kape would pressure his opponent into the fence, get him in prime position for a big shot, then throw nothing!
Does Kape deserve a bit of a break given his funky detached toe? Maybe, but seeing as that didn’t happen until the second, it’s a hard sell. All in all, it felt like a late-career Yoel Romero impression, something nobody wants to watch … particularly from a Flyweight!
As for Mokaev, this was abysmal work. “The Punisher” — perhaps the most undeserving nickname of all time, unless we, the viewers, are the ones referenced who are being punished — is known to do absolutely no damage. At least in past fights he would successfully wrestle though! It was at least interesting to watch him land high-amplitude takedowns, and he did threaten some submissions too.
Seven fights deep in his UFC career, Mokaev hasn’t done a lick of damage, and this was a low point. Seriously, what’s the hardest shot he landed in this fight? A slappy question mark kick? Even on the ground, Mokaev’s few ground strikes were out-done by a flurry of Kape elbows from bottom. There’s a genuine argument that Kape won the fight despite throwing roughly a third of the strikes — Mokaev is that offensively impotent.
The only interesting development to Mokaev’s game here was that he cheated a lot. He kicked Kape in the groin repeatedly, poked him in the eye, and tried to pants him on national television. None of this cost him a point.
Between the complete reluctance to exchange, cheating, and admittance to sucker punching Kape prior to the fight, it’s hard to overstate what a massive hit to Mokaev’s stock UFC 304 has been. Nobody is asking for a title shot to say the least.
In fact, I wouldn’t be so confident anyone is asking Mokaev back to the Octagon at all.
For complete UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad” results and play-by-play, click HERE!
