A pivotal flyweight matchup is being added to this summer’s UFC 304 card in Manchester, England.
Muhammad Mokaev will face Manel Kape in a meeting of top-10 125-pounders, as first reported by Home of Fight and later confirmed by the fighters on social media.
Mokaev is 12-0 as a professional mixed martial artist after a 23-0 amateur career. Half of his pro victories have occurred under the UFC banner and he is riding high off back-to-back wins over past flyweight title challengers Alex Perez and Tim Elliott.
The 23-year-old was born in Dagestan, Russia and his family moved to England when he was 12. A past national wrestling and submission wrestling champion representing England, Mokaev lives and fights out of Manchester and will have the crowd at the Co-op Live on July 27 on his side.
It is unclear whether this bout will be a featured preliminary bout or on the pay-per-view main card. It will have an impact on the 125-pound rankings regardless of its placement.
Mokaev is currently ranked No. 6 and closing in on a title shot; same with Kape who is ranked No. 7 and has won four fights in a row dating back to 2021.
Kape, 30, has had seven different matchups fall apart for various reasons during his winning streak, including two main event spots against Matheus Nicolau earlier this year that never came to fruition.
Other matchups expected to take place at UFC 304 include a pair of featherweight bouts: Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda and Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze.
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