Gerard Burns hasn’t been obsessed with fighting Muhammad Mokaev, but he’s definitely had the former UFC flyweight on his radar since before he turned pro.
Now 7-1 in his career, and competing for the BRAVE CF flyweight title on Friday, the Irish fighter wasn’t even sure MMA was going to be his career when he first saw Mokaev compete as an amateur. Once he decided that fighting was all he wanted to do, Burns kept an eye on Mokaev with hopes that they would eventually meet in the cage and now his wish
has been granted.
“I haven’t been in this game long, maybe six or seven years,” Burns told MMA Fighting. “From a long time ago, Mokaev was a big prospect coming up in the amateur scene. He was dominating in the amateurs, the IMMAF, and then winning world titles. So when I was starting this game, he was one of the best people I could find online. He was a big milestone that I set to be able to get to that level when I decided to do it, and I was going to give everything for mixed martial arts.
“It got closer and closer when one of my teammates fought him and one of my sparring partners fought him. I only had two amateur fights at the time. It was back then I was like I can actually get to this guy’s level and smash him. I truly believed it.”
Mokaev enters the fight with an undefeated record after being touted as one of the best prospects to ever compete in the flyweight division.
That said, the 25-year-old Dagestani-born fighter has also endured a tumultuous run in his career after he moved to 7-0 in his UFC career, but the promotion opted not to re-sign him to a new contract. UFC CEO Dana White later claimed that the company’s matchmakers had issues dealing with Mokaev, although he’s denied being some kind of problem child.
Burns has another theory entirely on why Mokaev is no longer competing in the UFC.
“He’s a good, classy fighter, don’t get me wrong, he’s a winner,” Burns said. “His record speaks for itself. He knows how to win fights. He’s obviously been sacked from the UFC for being a very boring fighter.
“I don’t think he’s been in many fights, to be totally honest. He’s been in plenty of martial arts competitions, matches but he’s never been in a fight. He’s going to be in a fight on Friday night, that’s for sure.”
Burns believes he’s got everything in his arsenal to force Mokaev into a fire fight and that’s where he plans to take over.
While he acknowledges that Mokaev’s wrestling and grappling have always been his best weapons, Burns promises he’s going to try to hurt him in every position, no matter where this fight takes place.
“I think I’ve got all the tools that it’s going to be his worst nightmare,” Burns said. “His style is not going to be able to handle it. I don’t just think that, I know it. Friday night we’ll see what happens. It will soon be revealed. He’s a good wrestler. He’s decent at striking. He doesn’t do enough of it. It seems like he gets hit or he gets tired and he goes back to what he knows and that’s wrestling and slowing the fights down and stealing the rounds. He’s definitely not going to be able to do that to me.
“I’m prepared for everything going into this fight. I’m just a nightmare for him wherever it is. Whether it’s on the feet. Whether he’s shooting into one of my knees. Whether he’s in my guard eating my elbows. I’m just totally prepared all-around. I’m focusing on my game. Wherever it ends up, I’m prepared. I don’t care what he does.”
Considering he’s only been fighting professionally for three years, Burns knows he’s made a fast rise up the ranks but he’s not looking at Mokaev as reaching the pinnacle of the sport just yet.
Instead, Burns looks at becoming BRAVE flyweight champion as a proud addition to his resume and hopefully just the first of many titles to come.
“It means a lot to me,” Burns said. “It’s a massive milestone. I mentioned I just started this game in 2019 and my biggest goal back then was just to get fit and healthy. Now here we are six years later fighting for a BRAVE world title.
“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to fight for. I’ve always wanted to fight for a BRAVE world title and now we’re here. It does mean so much to me.”
