Former UFC flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev has an opponent for his Karate Combat debut.
Mokaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is set ot face Bolat Zamanbekov in the co-main event at Karate Combat 54 in Dubai on May 2nd.
This will be Mokaev's second competitive outing since his high-profile departure from the UFC in july of last year. After racking up a string of impressive victories over ranked opponents such as Tim Elliot, Alex Perez and Manel Kape, "The Punisher" looked to be on course to gatecrash the title conversation at 125 pounds.
Disaster struck however after UFC President Dana White revealed after Mokaev's fight against Kape at UFC 304 in Manchester, England that the organization would not be renewing his contract and that they would be parting ways with the Dagestani-born fighter.
It had been widely speculated that Mokaev had been difficult to deal with behind the scenes, but the UFC refused to comment further on the situation.
Following his departure, Mokaev pleaded publicly for Dana White to give him another opportunity, but those pleas fell on deaf ears.
Mokaev eventually resigned with Bahrain-based promotion Brave Combat Federation, where he had previously fought five times as a professional before signing with the UFC back in 2022.
He won his first fight back under the Brave banner at Brave CF 91 in December, submitting Joevincent So inside the opening round.
Mokaev's opponent at Karate Combat 54, Bolat Zamanbekov, has an 8-3 record in MMA. The Kazakh comes into this fight having lost two of his last three bouts, both of which took place in ONE Championship. Outisde of that organization, Zamanbekov has won eight of nine professional MMA fights.
Karate Combat 54 is set to be headlined by a heavyweight contest between former UFC fighter Sam Alvey and former kickboxing world champion Tyrone Spong.
