What Nationality Is Muhammad Mokaev? Does He Belong to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Dagestan?

The UFC authorities haven’t managed to host an event on Russian soil to date. This is why they chose the Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi as the home ground of the Russian UFC fighters. The arena has hosted multiple events featuring the noted Dagestani UFC stars Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. But the promotional authorities have also booked a fight for the known UFC Flyweight, Muhammad Mokaev, in the upcoming UFC 294 to be hosted at the Etihad Arena. Several fans may be in a bit of confusion regarding this decision from the UFC.

Most MMA statistics websites showcase that Mokaev fights out of England. Hence, a number of fans may be wondering why exactly the UFC put him on a card that is set to feature Russians primarily. Some of them may also have noticed that Mokaev’s name bears a stark resemblance to the names of the Russian UFC stars from Dagestan. Is he also connected to Dagestan in some way?

Muhammad Mokaev is not an English native

Well, the MMA statistics websites aren’t inaccurate in showcasing that Mokaev fights out of England. The 23-year-old has been residing in Manchester, UK for about a decade now. But The Punisher’s native land lies far away from the country of the UK. Mokaev has also won a number of his pro-MMA fights via submissions.

His superior ground game may have reminded many of the familiar Dagestani grappling-heavy style of fighting. The noted UFC icon, Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered one of the pioneers of this style. The UFC authorities also aren’t wrong in booking Mokaev in the UFC 294 card as he too hails from ‘The Eagle’s’ native land of Dagestan in Russia. But Mokaev doesn’t want to identify himself as a Russian.

The famous UFC Flyweight lost his mother when he was just 12 years old. This untoward incident had him and his father leaving their native land and settling down in the UK. However, as mentioned earlier, Mokaev’s fighting style contains a number of similarities with Nurmagomedov’s fighting style. This might spark a question in the UFC community whether these are connected in any other way or not.

How is Muhammad Mokaev related to Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Currently, Mokaev has a number of similarities with ‘The Eagle’. Apart from having their roots in the same area of the world, the 23-year-old has yet to taste a defeat in his MMA career. Mokaev is a remarkable fighter who has showcased his superb prowess in both the striking and ground departments of the sport. He boasts an unblemished 10-0 record in his professional MMA career. But, his 23-0 amateur MMA record is bound to take any fan by surprise.

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However, ‘The Punisher’ isn’t connected to the noted Dagestani, Nurmagomedov, in any other way. They both hail from the same part of the world, possess a comparable fighting style, and hold an undefeated record in MMA to date. Nothing else apart from these.

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But Mokaev will be tested again at UFC 294 when he takes on the noted UFC Flyweight, Tim Elliott. Do you think he will be able to maintain his ‘undefeated’ similarity with Nurmagomedov with a win?