Fired by Dana White, “Entitled” Muhammad Mokaev Accused of Disrespectful Behaviour Towards UFC Staff – “It’s a Coward’s Mentality”

UFC Flyweight star Steve Erceg has shed some more light on why Muhammad Mokaev was cut by the UFC last week. ‘The Punisher’ was not only cut by the UFC but also chewed out publicly by UFC CEO Dana White after UFC 304 last week. The undefeated flyweight, who is 7-0 in the UFC at just 24 years of age, was being seen as a title contender in the not-so-distant future. However, he was shown the door instead.

The reasons: first, his purportedly boring fighting style due to his proclivity for takedowns in the octagon; and second, his behavior out of the octagon. But this isn’t all. Now, former UFC flyweight title contender, Steve Erceg revealed his own experiences of witnessing Mokaev’s ‘entitled’ behavior firsthand.

The most recent example of Mokaev being rowdy came days before his UFC 304 grudge match against Manel Kape. In a hotel lobby, the Englishman pretended he wanted a picture with Kape, but proceeded to jump him along with his team, leading to a mass brawl. And Erceg thinks that was a huge reason for him being cut from the UFC.

“[Mokaev] getting a photo [with Manel Kape] and sucker punching him and getting your team in, that’s like unacceptable. It’s coward mentality, I think. The way he treats people, I dont know if the fans get to see it. But I dont know, he just seems like he’s a little entitled and thinks he’s very important, [which] I don’t particularly like and obviously the UFC didn’t like. So hopefully he grows from here and learns a lesson,” Erceg said in a recent interview.

And this was not even the first time Mokaev had brawled with the Angolan-born Portuguese Kape. The duo had fought each other outside the UFC’s PI in Las Vegas, Nevada earlier this year. Since then, Mokaev has been nursing a grudge against Kape, which he could have resolved in the octagon since they were booked against each other on UFC 304.

However, Mokaev chose possibly the worst option by choosing to ambush Kape in the hotel lobby days before their clash. In addition, it seems that the Englishman also did not treat the staff well backstage, as Erceg revealed further in the interview.

Steve Erceg recounts Mokaev’s dismaying behavior before being fired by Dana White and Co.

‘Astroboy’ fought on the same Fight Night card as Mokaev last March, where he was struck by the lack of respect with which Mokaev treated the UFC staff backstage. This rubbed the Canadian flyweight the wrong way, as Erceg recounted feeling that the Englishman’s behavior was very disrespectful and borderline rude towards the staff. But, Erceg hopes ‘The Punisher’, who is still in his early twenties, will grow as a person after the whole ordeal.

“I don’t know if it’s [Mokaev’s entitlement and mistreatment of others is] common knowledge. I saw it when I fought the same card as him, just the way he was treating the nutrition team and that sort of thing. And just like little things, that are like disrespectful. I thought it was odd, but he’s a young kid and hopefully, he’ll learn from this,” Erceg added.

Indeed, Muhammad Mokaev seems to have learned from his unceremonious exit, as he took to Twitter recently, apologizing to the UFC for his recent conduct outside the cage and promising that he “will take big lesson from it!” What are your thoughts on Muhammad Mokaev being axed by Dana White and Co.? Do you agree with the decision? Let us know in the comments section below.