Former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev has looked to give Kai Kara-France a lesson in mathematics.
Mokaev and Kara-France once looked on a collision course as they plied their trade under the same banner. But that changed this year when the UFC opted not to renew the former’s contract following his controversial fight week in Manchester and subsequent decision win over Manel Kape at UFC 304.
With that, “The Punisher’s” plans to challenge Alexandre Pantoja were squashed, and he’s been made to work his way back to the Octagon elsewhere. That journey began on the front foot this month when Mokaev landed a quick submission at Brave CF 91.
Kara-France, meanwhile, is widely expected to be the man opposite Pantoja in 2025 following his emphatic knockout of recent title challenger Steve Erceg in Perth this past August.
And while staking his claim for a shot and rematch opposite “The Cannibal” during an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, the New Zealander sought to explain why he’s in this position instead of Mokaev.
[Mokaev] is boring, bro. This is fighting. It’s not wrestling. It’s not hugging. Don’t pull someone’s pants down in the middle of a fight,” Kara-France said. “No one pays all this money to see someone just dry hump someone on the ground.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take the always vocal Mokaev long to hit back.
In a post on X, “The Punisher” poked holes in Kara-France’s assessment by noting his higher finishing rate on MMA’s biggest stage. He also remarked on the City Kickboxing fighter’s feud with Kape, which almost boiled over at a press conference in Australia last year.
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“More finishes than you in the UFC, bro,” Mokaev wrote. “Only been in the UFC 2 years, had 7 fights and 4 finishes with 2 heavy injuries. You have been in the UFC 8 years now, do the maths. Kape owns you btw.”
For now, the pair’s animosity can’t be settled inside the Octagon.
But should Kara-France unseat Pantoja next year and Mokaev find himself back under the UFC banner courtesy of a few more standout performances with Brave CF, perhaps the matchup will be back on the table soon enough.
