UFC leader Dana White has again come under fire for his handling of Muhammad Mokaev’s infamous release last year, this time by controversial content creator MMA Guru.
Mokaev, who boasts an impressive 15-fight unbeaten record since his transition to professional mixed martial arts, departed the Octagon for the final time last summer.
And doing so as a top-ranked flyweight contender, Mokaev secured a hard-fought decision win over surging contender Manel Kape in their bitter grudge match in Manchester.
However, after fighting out his contract in that bout, Mokaev was not re-signed. To make matters worse, White confirmed he wouldn’t be, either.
“I wasn’t involved in any of the stuff that happened with him (Muhammad Mokaev),” White said of the release. “The matchmakers and Hunter (Campbell) were. And they weren’t happy with him. They weren’t happy with the way he acted. They weren’t happy with a lot of the things he did and said. I guess you can look back now and regret it, but you did it. You did it, and you put yourself in this position.”
However, when it comes to released fighters, the MMA Guru has had his say. As far as he’s concerned, if White is so concerned with Mokaev’s alleged backstage antics, he should look in the direction of heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones.
Involved in many fracas and incidents outside the Octagon. And with the public, too, Jones has not been reprimanded to that level yet. And the British YouTuber is far from happy as a result.
“Don’t like him [Mokaev] while he chases his dreams in the UFC,” he said on the MIGHTY channel. “Don’t go, ‘I don’t like him, so therefore cut him from the f**king sport’. Like, if he’s a bad guy backstage — that sounds interesting to me.”
White urged to strip Jones of heavyweight crown
White has maintained all year that he is confident of booking Jones’ return to action, but he has yet to do so. Claiming he is hoping to finally ink a title unification fight between the Rochester native and Tom Aspinall, White remains relatively coy on the pairing. That’s publicly, at least.
Beyond promises to fans that an “announcement” will follow soon, White has been urged to act like the CEO, and remove him as champion.
This comes after undisputed champion Islam Makhachev has been forced to vacate his lightweight title. But Jones has not been asked to do the same with his heavyweight crown.
Reacting to it, a fan wrote, “If you’re not Jon Jones, you have to defend your belt or you will be stripped, Dana f White.” Another user wrote, “The fact Islam HAD to vacate and Jon HAS NOT, is WILD..”
Defending his belt as recently as November, Jones has still failed to put pen to paper on a deal for an overdue fight with Aspinall, however. And on top of that, a pairing with the Atherton native has been all possible, dating back to 2023 at the very earliest, stunningly.
