Tonight’s UFC 294 prelims featured a hotly anticipated flyweight matchup between Muhammad Mokaev and Tim Elliott.
Coming into this fight, British prospect Mokaev holds a perfect professional record of 10-0. He has won all four of his fights in the UFC and three of those wins have come by submission. In his last outing, Mokaev found himself in a bit of trouble for the first time in the UFC when Jafel Filho locked in a kneebar. Despite the close call, Mokaev refused to tap and eventually won the fight via neck crank in the third round at UFC 286.
The 23-year-old has a solid grappling and wrestling game. He is proficient at taking the back of his opponents and wearing them down until he finds a submission.
The 36-year-old veteran Tim Elliott comes into this fight with a 19-12-1 record. The top 10 flyweight could prove to be a tougher test for Mokaev as he rides a two-fight winning streak. Elliot has an extensive resume that includes fights against Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Royval, but has been unable to progress past the elite fighters in the division.
Muhammad Mokaev Earns the Victory
Both fighters came flying out the gates, with Elliott landing an early takedown after getting cracked on the way down. An impressively slick get-up from Mokaev allowed the bout to return to the feet. The Brit countered with a takedown of his own, spending the past few minutes of the fight in top position.
The second round immediately returned to the canvas following a Mokaev level change straight after the bell. Elliott answered with a tight guillotine attempt which looked to be a certain early finish, although his counterpart managed to escape. Minutes later, Elliott found himself slammed headfirst onto the octagon floor after another deadly submission attempt. Mokaev struggled to land much from top position, however.
The 23-year-old entered the third with a lazy takedown attempt which saw him enter a compromising position. He received a slight let-off when Elliott landed another illegal shot and a time-out was called. A beautiful reversal from the Brit saw him regain top position against the cage. Over a minute later, the finish came. Mokaev manouvered into an arm-triangle choke and earned himself another statement victory.
Official result: Muhammad Mokaev defeats Tim Elliott via third-round submission (arm-triangle): R3 (3:03)
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
