Chael Sonnen is hopeful that Muhammad Mokaev will return to the octagon.
Mokaev (16-0) was abruptly let go by the UFC after going on a 7-0 run. He was on the cusp of title contention after defeating Manel Kape at UFC 304 in July 2024, but the promotion weren’t interested in re-signing him.
The reason Mokaev was given was that he was difficult to work with, but the undefeated 25-year-old insists on proving that he should have never been let go. That is exactly what he did after scoring a second-round knockout of Gerard Burns Friday at Brave CF 100 to earn the promotion’s vacant flyweight title.
Sonnen thinks it’s a matter of time that not only is Mokaev back in the UFC, but in the title picture.
“I think Muhammad Mokaev is headed back to the UFC, and by the way, if he gets back, they will fast-track him,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “There’s just a thing that they do, something about it. There’s something about it if you’re with them, you leave and you make it back, when you come back, it’s like hey, there’s no point in us building you and promoting you. Whatever you’ve done, we think you belong and we’re going to put you in the deep end right now.
“We’re either going to send you back where you came from, which is gone, or we’re going to send you to the top. I just think that the way Muhammad Mokaev is playing this is perfect. I really do. He was a young guy. I forgive him, and I don’t even know what happened. He didn’t sacrifice his pride. He’s been a man about it. I think all this is going to work out, and when it does, he will be a point of inspiration for other guys who got released and needed a second chance.”
Mokaev has now finished 10 of his 16 professional wins, with finishes over the likes of Cody Durden and former UFC title challenger Tim Elliott.
