What Is Muhammad Mokaev’s Ethnicity and Nationality? Is the UFC Prospect From Dagestan?

The UFC is getting ready for its return to the Middle East with UFC 294. The UFC hasn’t managed to host an event on Russian soil to date. Hence, the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, UAE, has come to serve as the home ground for many of its Russian fighters. The promotional authorities have also booked the up-and-coming UFC Flyweight, Muhammad Mokaev, for a showdown on 21 October.

Mokaev, who only has four UFC fights to date, is one of the most promising fighters in the promotion. The circumstances of his next scheduled fight may compel fans to think that he too hails from Russia. But a lot of them may be in complete greyness regarding the issue. So let’s dive right in to learn a bit more about the same.

Where is Muhammad Mokaev originally from? Why did he leave his birthplace?

Muhammad Mokaev is Dagestani by birth, having been born and brought up in the Russian Republic until he was 12 years old. Almost every fan knows the noted UFC icon, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Apart from making a name for himself, ‘The Eagle’ also popularized the name of his homeland, Dagestan in the UFC community as the place where some of the best wrestlers come from. And Mokaev is one of them. But reports say that he doesn’t want to associate himself with Russia anymore.

‘The Punisher’ and his father had to go through a terrible loss when his mother passed away while Mokaev was just 12 years old. Following his mother’s death, Mokaev and his father decided to flee Russia, as there were fears his father might get persecuted for his political beliefs. Currently, Mokaev is nowhere in comparison with the noted UFC stars from his homeland, Khabib, and Islam Makhachev, in terms of popularity or achievements. But he is slowly but surely making his way towards a title shot and with it, joining the aforementioned Dagestani legends.

About Muhammad Mokaev’s parents and early days in UK

Mokaev fled to the UK with his father in the trunk of a car, with no money, and no other belongings except for a few clothes that they managed to take on their journey. The ethnic Dagestani would remember the time he and his father would have to survive on less than six dollars a day in the early days of his move to the UK.

They settled in the northern England town of Wigan, where Mokaev would rediscover his love for wrestling, the national sport of Dagestan, which he had some prior experience of in his homeland. In school, the UFC star would get into fights with the other boys, which he felt was because he didn’t have an outlet to channel his energy productively. But that too would soon change.

At the age of 13, he joined the Manchester Wrestling Club, quickly becoming one of the best young wrestlers in the country, with multiple British national wrestling titles to his name. Mokaev also got interested in MMA, making his amateur debut in 2015, even as he continued wrestling and even started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Eventually, he decided that he would pursue a career in mixed martial arts, and the rest, as they say, is history. But none of this would have been possible if Mokaev hadn’t moved to the UK as a young boy.