"Fighting some cans" - Muhammad Mokaev retorts after Brandon Royval labels the rising UFC flyweight "boring"
Brandon Royval and Muhammad Mokaev have no love for each other. After Royval called Mokaev a "boring" fighter, the undefeated UFC flyweight star recently clapped back on social media by bringing up 'Raw Dawg's' resume.
For context, Royval weighed in on Mokaev's last fight against Alex Perez at UFC Vegas 87 during his appearance on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour show. Royval made it clear he wasn't impressed with Mokaev's performance and didn't believe the Dagestan-born Englishman deserved a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja.
Speaking to the veteran journalist, 'Raw Dawg' said:
"Maybe he beat Alex Perez, maybe not... I don’t think it warrants a title fight. I didn’t think it was very impressive... Any time I watch that kid fight I’m like, ‘This s*** is lame. This is boring.’ It is what it is... I always forget what he brings to the table. Then I watch and like, ‘Oh yeah, this kid’s f****** boring.’ I get amnesia."
Mokaev wasn't happy about what Royval had to say about him and didn't like being called a "boring" fighter.
The 23-year-old Russian-born Englishman recently took to X to slam Royval for his words and pointed out the Colorado native's resume when he was 23. Calling out Royval for a fight, Mokaev wrote:
"Brandon Royval, 23 years old - 2-1 as professional, fighting some cans. I'm 23 years old [and] 6-0 in the UFC. You’re not in the position to hate my fighting style; I didn’t perform well on my bad day, but you, on your bad day, won’t even show up. I told you already, if you saying I’m an easy opponent for you, let’s fight then. You’re easiest guy in top 5 that’s for sure!"
Muhammad Mokaev believes he's next in line to face UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja
Muhammad Mokaev recently shared his thoughts on a potential title shot against reigning UFC flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja. Before his fight against Alex Perez at UFC Vegas 87, the undefeated fighter broke down the title picture and claimed 'The Cannibal' wanted to fight him over Brandon Royval.
During a pre-fight media day interview, 'The Punisher' dismissed Pantoja as a dangerous threat to him in the cage and stated that Royval's title hopes must be tempered in light of his two losses against the reigning champ. He said:
"I have trained with Pantoja after my debut and I haven't seen anything special in him that he has a priority in skill advantage. This morning, he actually said he would like to fight me if I beat Alex Perez instead of Brandon Royval. Brandon Royval, I think he has ACL [injury]. Brandon Moreno is 0-3 against Pantoja, Royval 0-2 against Pantoja."