"There was a beef in the hotel" - Muhammad Mokaev opens up on being unexpectedly cut from UFC, says PFL rumor was "most stupid thing ever"

Muhammad Mokaev recently opened up about being cut from the UFC and dismissed the rumors about him allegedly negotiating with the PFL behind his contracted promotion's back.

After signing with the UFC in November 2021, Mokaev made seven outings and managed to go undefeated thanks to his impressive grappling skills. However, he found himself in hot water after getting into an altercation with Manel Kape at the fighter hotel before their scheduled fight at UFC 304 last July.

While he beat Kape via unanimous decision, Mokaev's alleged pre-fight behavior and speculations that he was in talks with the PFL meant that the UFC refused to renew his contract and he had to leave the promotion. Fans criticizing Mokaev's seemingly uninspiring and tedious fighting style didn't help his case either.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, 'The Punisher' shared his side of the story and cleared the air surrounding his UFC exit. He said:

"Till today, I don't understand the real situation. Of course, there was a beef in the hotel and stuff, but I really don't know... Maybe there's a miscommunication between my team and UFC."

Addressing speculations that his team was negotiating with the PFL, Mokaev stated:

"In PFL, there's no flyweight division... Being 7-0 and having negotiations with another organization, that's the most stupid thing ever anyone could do."

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Muhammad Mokaev addresses Dana White allegedly ignoring him at Power Slap event

Muhammad Mokaev recently opened up about attending a Power Slap event and running into Dana White, who allegedly paid him no attention. Mokaev dismissed the rumors and clarified that he didn't want to disturb the UFC CEO at the event.

After a fan asked 'The Punisher' about White seemingly ignoring him at the slap-fighting event on X, he replied:

"I saw Dana and Hunter [Campbell] at the power slap didn’t wanna distract them. Of course, if I had chance, I come and talk. I have no ego towards them because they didn’t renew my contract. We should not forget about 7 fights they gave me platform to put my name on the map."