Former dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson spoke out about this past weekend's bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg, and also assessed Muhammad Mokaev's chances in a potential fight with the current division leader.
"Erceg literally gave the fight away trying to fight a guy who doesn't know how to do that. It was a great fight, but I think Erceg gave it to Pantoja.
I thought Pantoja was going to finish him, but Erceg was better in the standup. He did more damage in this fight, but made some bad decisions along the way. If you give Steve Erceg a year or two, I think he'll beat Pantoja. And Muhammad Mokaev can beat Pantoja right now," said the American in his podcast.
Recall, Pantoja defeated Ercega by unanimous decision of judges in the main event of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Undefeated British prospect Muhammad Mokaev of the UFC's lightweight division rated his fighting skills on a 10-point scale.
Undefeated British mixed martial arts fighter Muhammad Mokaev, who competes in the UFC's lightest weight class, emphasized his career achievements and promised that he will delight fans with more colorful fights in the future.
Muhammad Mokaev, a British fighter in the UFC's lightest division, has revealed who he will be rooting for in the title fight between featherweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and challenger Steve Erceg.
"I really want Erceg to win this fight. I think he has a better jab than Pantoja. Alesandre is just a dog with jiu-jitsu technique. I don't see him as anything special," Mokaev wrote on social media.
The confrontation between Pantoja and Erceg will take place on the night of May 5 in Rio de Janeiro and will headline the UFC 301 numbered event. In the co-main event of that event, former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will fight Jonathan Martinez.
Alex Perez, an American UFC fighter, explained why lightweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev has yet to get a chance to fight for the championship belt. According to Perez, it's all about Mokaev not looking too convincing in his recent fights.
"If you look at the resume, Mokaev has had tougher opponents than Erceg. He's been in the UFC longer and fought against Tim Elliott and beat me. But in our sport, it's your form in your last fight that decides everything. Steve Erceg looked great in his last fights," MMA Junkie quotes Perez as saying.
Recall that the next opponent of the current UFC lightweight champion Alesandre Pantoja will be Steve Erceg.