Muhammad Mokaev's impressive 23-0 amateur record was a forerunner for his successes in the paid ranks.
Before turning over as a professional in 2020 and subsequently breaking into the UFC, Mokaev established himself as one of the most decorated amateurs of all time.
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From 2015 to 2022 Mokaev won the inaugural Tanko FC Amateur flyweight title, the UKFC flyweight and bantamweight belts, and the Caged Steel FC bantamweight strap.
Meanwhile, he picked up gold medals in all of the major International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) tournaments - the international governing body for amateur MMA.
In 2018, he won the IMMAF-WMMA Junior World Championships and defended his crown again a year later while also winning the 2019 European Junior Open Championships and 2020 Oceania Championships.
Mokaev's grappling-heavy style is a blend of freestyle wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and sambo.
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He honed his skills in the northwest of England after emigrating there from Dagestan, Russia at the age of 12 with his father.
They lived in a refugee center in Liverpool when they first arrived but within a month they moved to Wigan, where Mokaev became the fighter he is today.
While he blazed through the amateur MMA ranks, Mokaev also impressed as a grappler, winning the 2018 and 2019 ADCC UK Championships and the 2019 freestyle wrestling English Nationals.
When he made the jump to the pros there was plenty of fanfare surrounding him and he has proved it to be justifiable up to the time of writing.
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Mokaev is currently 12-0 in pro MMA and 6-0 in the UFC.
Last time out, he defeated Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238 in March - a victory that earned him a No.6 ranking in the flyweight division.
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He is now set to face Manel Kape at UFC 304 this Saturday in a fight that promises to produce fireworks.
Kape has been on an absolute tear since losing his first two UFC fights to Alexandre Pantoja and Matheus Nicolau.
The explosive Angolan scored a highlight reel flying knee KO over Ode' Osbourne at UFC 265 to kick off a four-fight winning streak, which includes a barnburner with Felipe Dos Santos in his last outing.
If Mokaev can beat Kape then he will put himself in a very strong position to challenge for 125lbs gold.
Pantoja is currently the reigning world champion and picked up the title by beating Brandon Moreno in July 2023.
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He has since gone on to retain his strap against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg.
But is yet to be scheduled in for his third title defence.