Muhammad Mokaev has detailed his reasoning for burying the hatchet with Manel Kape despite their pre-fight animosity at UFC 304.
Mokaev and Kape collided on the preliminary card of this past weekend's pay-per-view event, which went down inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
Their fight was among the most anticipated in the lead-up, partially down to the bad blood that appeared to exist between the two flyweight contenders owing to a number of physical altercations.
Following an apparent bust-up at the UFC Performance Institute in March instigated by "Starboy," Mokaev returned the favor on home turf during UFC 304 fight week, sucker-punching his opponent outside the fighter hotel.
The pair went on to attempt to come to blows inside the Octagon moments before their bout, but that aggression did not transcend into the contest itself, which played out in a low-volume and unentertaining fashion en route to the scorecards.
At the end of the final round, the pair embraced in a hug, something that many might have been surprised to see given their back and forth beforehand.
During a backstage interview with Caroline Pearce for TNT Sports, Mokaev reflected on his victorious performance over Kape and addressed some of the talking points that emerged from the UFC 304 matchup.
When asked about his respectful post-fight interaction with his Angola-born Portuguese rival, "The Punisher" insisted that when it comes time to do battle inside the Octagon, the hatchet must be buried.
It was more personal. It happened in Vegas five days before my fight against Alex Perez. I had a cut. ... Once he came to Manchester, once I see him, I had to welcome him to Manchester," Mokaev said. "You know, the man is here to feed his family. He has a baby, I have a kid in the house. We're both here to make our fridge full. I cannot kick a man down. He is already down.
In this situation, I could have got knocked out tonight too. And I wouldn't like it if somebody kept kicking me down and talking sh*t," Mokaev continued. "What ever happened, it happened on the streets. Inside the Octagon, I think it should be settled. I'm young, but I'm not stupid.
Despite that, Kape has been criticizing Mokaev on social media in recent days, first slamming him for a number of fouls that took place before later accusing him of tapping to a guillotine choke.
The Dagestan-born Brit's online activity, meanwhile, has largely centered around his surprise UFC release. At the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that the promotion wouldn't be renewing Mokaev's contract owing to factors outside of the Octagon.
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