UFC 286’s largest authorized, Muhammad Mokaev, no longer overlooking Filho – however sees Jake Hadley in shadows

LONDON – Muhammad Mokaev is the largest making a guess authorized this week in London, however he doesn’t conception on looking out past his opponent.

The unbeaten Mokaev (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on Jafel Filho (14-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a flyweight bout on the UFC 286 prelims Saturday at The O2. The important card airs on pay-per-take a look at out following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+. Mokaev is a mountainous -750 authorized at Tipico Sportsbook.

The England-essentially based mostly Mokaev fought on each the UFC’s London shows in 2022, including a $50,000 bonus submission of Cody Durden in his promotional debut. Against Malcolm Gordon this past October in Abu Dhabi, Mokaev became a 14-1 authorized. So the high expectations aren’t sleek to him.

“I don’t underestimate him,” Mokaev acknowledged at Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day. “Brazilians – they’ve a tough lifestyles, so he’ll be hungry for his debut as I became for my debut. I became hungry. But I feel he has moderate abilities. … I don’t bear any rigidity. I bear mountainous enhance.”

Though Mokaev says he isn’t looking out past Filho, he could maybe also unbiased bear a future opponent spherical him unprecedented of the week. Jake Hadley will fight Gordon a pair of bouts before Mokaev makes his stroll to the cage, and he’s been chirping in Mokaev’s route.

The misfortune with that, Mokaev acknowledged, is that Hadley, also from England, doesn’t seem adore he wants to defend things beyond social media.

“I honest indubitably came nose to nose with him,” Mokaev acknowledged. “He didn’t insist one phrase and his dad started backing him up. I don’t note. If my father became in front of me and I’m a UFC fighter, I wouldn’t stand at the abet of my dad. I’d soar over and slap the fellow. So he didn’t insist any words. I don’t know – this man is no longer the identical in loyal lifestyles. I do know these forms of fellows. I grew up in England, and Twitter is totally different than loyal lifestyles.

“I’ve honest been in Tiger Muay Thai practicing with Charles Johnson. I’ve been at American High Group of workers practicing with Cody Durden. I acknowledged to Malcolm Gordon, ‘In the event you desire any benefit in this room, we benefit you, too.’ I’m OK, however guys adore Jake Hadley, I don’t know – I don’t know what to name them. I don’t are seeking to order, however he didn’t insist one phrase – one phrase. At least insist one thing. Don’t take care of at the abet of your father. I feel very injurious for his father. I didn’t are seeking to even insist anything else on tale of (there became an) passe man in front of me – I imagined it’s my father.”

Take a look at out Mokaev’s paunchy media day interview in the video above.

For more on the cardboard, search recommendation from MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.