It was Muhammad Mokaev’s dream to become the youngest champion in UFC history, but it’s one that he’ll have to wake up from, approaching his 24th birthday.
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UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has long held on to that record, touching gold at 23 years old and 8 months, defeating Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua back in 2011.
Flyweight contender Mokaev had hoped to find himself in his first title fight by that age, but between injuries and the time it took him to notch six-straight wins in the Octagon, it was already too late for the young upstart to surpass Jones.
“It’s hard for me to say my goals now because once I said, I want to become youngest UFC champion. It just didn’t work out,” Mokaev told Title Sports Network (h/t: Home of Fight). “I don’t want to like, something to announce. If it comes, it comes, because I thought, I believe I could have been youngest UFC champion. Jon Jones became youngest UFC champion when he was 23 years old… and I’m still 23.”
While he may have missed the deadline, the flyweight title goal still remains the same for Mokaev as he takes on Manel Kape in a potential title eliminator at UFC 304 on July 27th, just days prior to his 24th birthday. A win could very well launch Mokaev into the next title fight against Alexandre Pantoja, one that he wished he had at an earlier time.
The #6-ranked Mokaev was thought by many to be the next title challenger after defeating Alex Perez in March, but the lower-ranked Steve Erceg unexpectedly skipped to the front of the line to face Pantoja instead at UFC 301 in May, leaving Mokaev to fight once more for title contention.
“I think I’m the most active after Jon Jones from the young generation. I think I could have [got the opportunity to become youngest champion], it’s just… maybe UFC didn’t want me,” Mokaev added.
“I think Jon Jones is a star, American star. They want to keep him there. One hundred percent,” Mokaev said, when asked if that was why he didn’t get a title shot.
It’s worth noting that if Muhammad Mokaev had fought Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 and won the title, he still would’ve fallen short of Jon Jones’ record at 35 days behind. But, it would’ve been an impressive feat regardless had Mokaev obtained UFC gold at just 23 years old.
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