PFL Doesn’t Have ‘An Ounce Of Interest’ In Mokaev

Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images

PFL wants Mokaev to keep their name out of his mouth as he continues to seek a new home after the UFC dropped him.

The PFL wants you to know they have no interest in signing Muhammad Mokaev.

Mokaev was very publicly dropped by the UFC following the completion of his contract at UFC 304, with CEO Dana White implying he was difficult to deal with on multiple levels. Rumors have swirled on what exactly he did — was he rude to UFC employees? Was it the non-stop brawling with Manel Kape? The terrible cage fight with Kape that followed? Or was it because Mokaev was in talks with PFL before his UFC contract was up?

All of these are credible possibilities, and while Mokaev admits maybe White heard through the grapevine that he’d been talking with PFL, he claimed he hadn’t been.

Thank you to all organisations that reached out to me
Brave CF, Rizin, PFL, Karate Combat, ACA

I appreciate for believing in me, now I will sit down with my team and take the best option not on money wise but that could let me go back to the UFC ASAP! #M57 #KHKmma pic.twitter.com/ZMOij4irC6

— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) August 10, 2024

PFL also took the unusual step of attacking Mokaev, with president Ray Sefo declaring “Apparently he’s just a pain in the ass to deal with. So no, we’re not interested.”

“Of course you gonna say this,” Mokaev replied on X (formerly Twitter). “I never accepted you deals. Nice move!”

Reports have Mokaev leaning towards a return to Brave CF, the promotion he fought for en route to UFC. But in a new tweet, he suggested he had a number of options to choose from.

“Thank you to all organizations that reached out to me: Brave CF, Rizin, PFL, Karate Combat, ACA,” he wrote. “I appreciate for believing in me, now I will sit down with my team and take the best option not on money wise but that could let me go back to the UFC ASAP!”

This time it was PFL’s Mike Kogan who shut down Mokaev’s claim of an offer.

The Mohammed Mokaev x PFL drama continues.

PFL's Mike Kogan just stated this: pic.twitter.com/CIdxkAx5xz

— Al Zullino (@phre) August 11, 2024

“This story is a lie,” he wrote on social media. “No one from PFL or Bellator spoke to the dude or showed even an ounce of interest.”

The PFL clearly wants the world to know they’re not interested in Mokaev, and at this point the denials are hitting conspicuous levels. If the promotion had been talking to Mokaev before his UFC contract officially ended, that could constitute tortuous interference. It’s been a while since the UFC has used their legal might to crush another promotion, but if there were talks, they’d have a case.

So all these heated denials against speaking to Mokaev may be as much for legal cover as they are over specific dislike for the young contender. That doesn’t make him look any better as he seeks a new home in the difficult MMA landscape outside the UFC.