UFC London: Muhammad Mokaev remains unbeaten with dominant victory over Charles Johnson
MUHAMMAD MOKAEV maintained his unbeaten record with a dominant victory over Charles Johnson at UFC London.
The Punisher locked horns with the former LFA flyweight champion on the prelims of UFC Fight Night 208 at the O2 Arena.
Manchester Top Team’s Mokaev made a brilliant start to UFC life four months ago with a stunning 58-second submission of Cody Durden.
And he stretched his record to a near-perfect 8-0-1 with a unanimous decision victory over American Johnson in front of a raucous crowd.
Mokaev put Johnson on the back foot from the get-go and was free-flowing with his punches.
A left hook rattled the American’s chin and put him into retreat mode early doors.
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But he soon found himself going for a ride once Mokaev got double underhooks and hoisted him up in the air like a feather.
Johnson managed to return to his feet several times throughout the round after being grounded but was unable to break the solid grip of the former refugee.
Mokaev almost took Johnson’s head off with a big head kick early in the second but narrowly missed the target.
The Brit briefly found himself on the canvas following a perfect teep from Johnson.
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But upon returning to his feet, he secured a takedown and didn’t relent with his grappling until the end of the third.
Johnson had more success in the third, briefly managing to walk down youngster and land body kicks.
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But as was the case in the previous stanzas, he was unable to negate the wrestling and relentless top pressure for the remainder of the round.
All three judges saw the contest the same way, scoring the contest 30-27 in young Mokaev’s favour.