What does it really take to stay in the UFC? A massive fanbase? An undefeated record? Not quite. If you’re not in Dana White’s good books, your days might be numbered, no matter your résumé. Just ask Muhammad Mokaev. Despite being unbeaten, he was shown the door last year and has since bounced between promotions. And now? The rising star isn’t even interested in a UFC return.
Despite his victory over Manel Kape at UFC 304, the UFC released him and made it clear they had no intention of re-signing him, even with his winning streak. Following his departure, Mokaev competed under Brave FC and later fought at Karate Combat 54, where he secured a KO win over Bolat Zamanbekov. This year, he even stated that he is a changed man. “I made some mistakes, whatever happened,” he told MMA Fighting. “We are humans.”
He further added, “I believe the matchmakers and everybody in their life at the age of 22, 23, under so much pressure, so much pressure I had at my age, maybe they would do more mistakes or maybe less, you know? We are all human. I learned from it.” However, it appears that he has backtracked from his words now, as he is not only signing with Karate Combat, but he now has no intention of coming back to the UFC.
In a recent accidental reveal, the president of Karate Combat let slip that Muhammad Mokaev will be fighting for the organization in the future. The conversation was shared on X, and in response, ‘The Punisher’ wrote, “That’s my brother! @pres_awesome Much respect!” Now, what about not coming back to the UFC part?
Well, when a fan stated that Mokaev would just need to do one interview with the Nelk Boyz to make a comeback, he said, “I don’t need that belt if I have to get back to the UFC by supporting those people. Simple. My principles over my dreams.” Why did he say this? Well, it’s because the Nelk Boyz recently featured Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on their podcast.
That’s my brother ! @pres_awesomemuch respect! https://t.co/G7pKzZ13MS
— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) July 24, 2025
Since Mokaev is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, he has decided to distance himself from anything associated with Israel. Well, Dana White is not the only one who took shots from the community for the hubbub.
After Dana White, Ilia Topuria gets called out for his comments
Everyone knows how close Dana White is with the Nelk Boyz, and when the YouTubers hosted a podcast with Israel’s Prime Minister, things took a bad turn, not just for the UFC CEO, but also for Ilia Topuria. Now, you might wonder, how? Well, recently, the Nelk Boys spent some quality time with the lightweight champion, and in their conversation, ‘El Matador’ made some comments which might have caught the attention of some people.
Praising them for their recent podcast with Benjamin Netanyahu, Ilia Topuria said he liked the episode and appreciated how they interacted with the Prime Minister. However, his comments have drawn backlash from a large section of MMA fans, who accuse him of supporting someone they believe is on the wrong side of history.
The Nelk Boyz certainly captured a ton of attention, not just for themselves, but for Dana White and Ilia Topuria as well. But will this negative attention have any effect on either of them? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.
The post Dana White & Friend Catch Strays After Muhammad Mokaev Signs to Rival Promotion appeared first on EssentiallySports.
