Muhammad Mokaev is one of the top contenders in the UFC flyweight division right now but he recently went viral when he lost a match at a BJJ tournament by disqualification after slamming his opponent to the ground. Although slams are a common part of a fighter’s arsenal in professional MMA, they are not allowed under IBJJF rules and that is the most common ruleset used in BJJ tournaments. Even outside of that, the majority of other tournaments that don’t use IBJJF rules also forbid slamming outside of the most experienced divisions.
This match took place at the BJJ 247 Manchester Open 2024 on March 17th, 2024 and Mokaev had entered the men’s no gi featherweight division. There were only two other competitors in his bracket so he only had two matches, although he ended up losing both of them. The first match was the disqualification loss that he suffered as a result of slamming his opponent, Zain Hayat, from closed guard. He was allowed to compete against the second opponent, Dav Moretti, after that but he lost that match by submission after a little under 2 minutes of action.
In his first match, Muhammad Mokaev appeared to be perfectly aware of the fact that slamming was forbidden as the video starts with him gently setting his opponent down from a standing position where a slam would be available. The next time that he lifts his opponent up in closed guard, he makes the decision to slam him down to the ground and doesn’t appear at all surprised when he is disqualified from the match either. This is hardly the first time that an MMA fighter has gotten in trouble for breaking the rules of a grappling tournament, and it seems to be all too often that some of them get frustrated by the difference in rules between the two sports.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time that Mokaev himself has been subject to accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct either, as many fans accused him of using a fake tap to help win his fight at UFC 286. Other than that relatively minor controversy, Mokaev has enjoyed the perfect start to his professional MMA career. He amassed a 6-0 (1) record on the regional MMA circuit before signing a contract with the UFC and has since won all 6 of his fights there too, with 4 submission finishes. He is currently ranked firmly within the top 10 of the UFC flyweight division and is within touching distance of a title-shot despite being just 23 years old.
The full video of Muhammad Mokaev being disqualified in a local BJJ tournament for slamming his opponent was uploaded to the official Twitter account of MMA Off Point:
Muhammed Mokaev gets DQ'd in a local BJJ competition for a slam. Embarrassing for a UFC fighter if you ask me
(Probably got frustrated for not getting the title shot) pic.twitter.com/Vs3mltvTo0
— MMA Off Point (@OffPointMMA) March 18, 2024
