Muhammad Mokaev claims his heart did not allow him to tap to gruesome submission attempt at UFC 286

Muhammad Mokaev extended his unbeaten professional mixed martial arts record to 11-0 at UFC 286. Mokaev beat Jafel Filho in the preliminary card opener in front of his home crowd in London, England.

However, Mokaev's win was not as straightforward as he would have liked it to be. The Dagestani-born Brit had to fend off a kneebar from Filho in the final round of the bout and did so incredibly against anybody's expectations.

Mokaev outdid himself by continuing to fight with an injured knee and produced a submission of his own to submit Filho.

He later addressed comments from fans on social media over his decision not to tap out and potentially compromise his knee for the rest of his career. Mokaev boldly asserted that he would never give in, even at the cost of his career.

He tweeted:

"Seen some tweets saying, you didn’t tap but you might risk to end your career! I rather end my career without being quitter..I’m in crazy pain right now but if I would tap it would hurt my heart even more"

---

Muhammad Mokaev details his incredible escape at UFC 286

Muhammad Mokaev's display at UFC 286 not only reinforced his reputation as a top flyweight prospect, but also showcased his championship-worthy heart.

Mokaev spoke about his experience when he was in the knee lock by his opponent and mentioned hearing parts of his knee crack.

In his post-fight interview, 'The Punisher' said:

“I’m flexible, there was like three, four cracks and he thought I gonna tap so he relax a little bit. He look at me and then Herb Dean said he didn’t tap so I shake my head and then he rejoined the grip like a choke position, was even stronger. This groin guard is very strong. And then another three, four cracks. In my head I was waiting till my knee rips. In my head I was like, it’s nearly coming out. And then when I stand on the knee, I’m like my knee gone."

Muhammad Mokaev also spoke about mentally breaking his opponent by seeing out the submission attempt. The flyweight stated that he intended to leave it all inside the octagon because he knew he would rest for the entirety of the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Check out his full comments below: