Muhammad Mokaev had a chance to make an undeniable statement to get a title fight against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in Brazil on May 4 if he’d earned a flashy win over Alex Perez.
He didn’t get it, but was still the clear and rightful victor by unanimous decision in the flyweight bout. Mokaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) might still get the opportunity to challenge for the belt and become the second-youngest champion in UFC history behind Jon Jones, but it’s not the certainty it would’ve been if he’d won in a highlight-reel manner.
It’s seemingly now a two-man race between Mokaev and Brandon Royval, who upset Brandon Moreno on short notice at UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico a week ago. Royval is coming off the more significant win in the division, but he’s already lost twice to Pantoja, including just recently at UFC 296 in December. It’s feels like the harder sell for a pay-per-view title fight, whereas Mokaev is the fresh challenger.
If I had a say within the UFC brass, Mokaev would be my choice. He’s the more viable choice at this point, and honestly if you’re Royval, the better one for his own career. Royval needs to make good on his third crack at Pantoja, and doing it on such a quick turnaround while clearly not being 100 percent (I don’t care if he says his knee is OK), doesn’t seem ideal.
For all those reasons and more, I expect to see Pantoja vs. Mokaev for the flyweight title in less than 10 weeks’ time.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie
