Mokaev says he accepted four grappling bouts in a week against
former One
Championship titleholder Adriano
Moraes and
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights Asu
Almabayev, Alibi
Idiris and Ramazonbek
Temirov. He alleges that all four opponents agreed to fight
him, only to pull out the very next day.

Former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev details a ‘crazy week' of
failed grappling matchups

Mokaev eventually secured a grappling matchup against Moris
Boleian. They will compete for the ACBJJ 60kg Grand Title on Aug.
30 at Ora Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.

“It was crazy week,†the former UFC flyweight wrote on X. “Signed
to compete 4 names in 1 week (Adriano Moraes, Asu Almabayev, Alibi
Idiris & Ramazan Temirov) And they all too but next day the didn't
want to. At the end only this guy accepted.â€

Mokaev (16-0) has finished three of his four MMA wins and one in
Karate Combat since his UFC exit in 2024. The undefeated flyweight
is also active on the grappling circuit, where he suffered a loss
against a much bigger Arman
Tsarukyan in his last match. Meanwhile, Boleian (8-1) has
finished all eight of his professional wins via submission before
suffering his lone career loss via split decision at UAE Warriors
this past January.

Credit: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan doesn't have a lot of sympathy for Charles Oliveira after their scratched UFC 331 rematch.

Top UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan and BMF titleholder Charles Oliveira were rumored to run it back at UFC 331 next month. Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira in a closely contested bout at UFC 300 earlier in their careers.

Despite recent rumors, the UFC matchmakers booked Tsarukyan for the UFC 331 co-main event against surging contender Mauricio Ruffy. Oliveira's teammate Allan Nascimento's tragic death was proposed as the likely reason for Oliveira's sudden withdrawal from the rumored UFC 331 matchup.

But just days after the new UFC 331 fight announcement, Oliveira has posted training footage on his social media accounts, as fans await news on the BMF champ's return. According to Tsarukyan, the validity of Oliveira's apparent pullout from UFC 331 should be questioned.

Arman Tsarukyan: Charles Oliveira used teammate's death to ‘duck' rematch

In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Tsarukyan was asked about Oliveira pulling out of their rumored rematch at UFC 331.

“Charles' friend died, and he cannot train; but I don't understand, in 3-4 days he's doing training and back in camp,†Tsarukyan said of Oliveira.

“Probably they already set up a fight with Diego Lopes. He was just finding an excuse. To lose somebody is so hard, but you could beat me and dedicate the victory to your friend. Fight me or Diego Lopes? For sure, he would pick Diego Lopes.†(h/t MMA Mania)

A matchup between Oliveira and former UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes has been proposed as a potential future bout. Lopes recently announced his full-time move to the lightweight division after back-to-back losses to featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Oliveira last fought against Max Holloway at UFC 326, winning by unanimous decision to earn the BMF title. The former UFC lightweight champion is looking to make another title push after a recent vacant title loss to Ilia Topuria.

What is your prediction for Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

Credit: Sarpy County, Nebraska

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith faces years in prison stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident.

Anthony Smith is headed to trial after pleading ‘not guilty' to four felony charges stemming from an incident with his wife earlier this summer.

Smith, 38, retired from mixed martial arts following a loss to Zhang Mingyang at UFC Kansas City last year. After hanging up the gloves, Smith has transitioned into full-time broadcasting as a key fixture of Paramount's UFC coverage.

Smith and his wife were involved in an altercation at a bar on July 26th in Gretna, Nebraska, in which the former UFC star allegedly ‘threatened to kill her' if she didn't leave with him. According to Sarpy County police, Smith then allegedly physically forced her inside the vehicle before she escaped during the drive.

Smith allegedly attempted to run over his wife near their house before police eventually arrived at the scene. He was booked into Sarpy County jail and released on a $500k bond.

Smith appeared in a Sarpy County courtroom on Monday and pled ‘not guilty' to charges of terroristic threats, false imprisonment, and domestic violence.

Anthony Smith set for trial, faces up to 50 years in prison after alleged domestic incident

Now, Smith and his legal team will return to court on September 21st for an arraignment hearing. If found guilty of the above charges, Smith potentially faces up to 20 years in prison.

As of this writing, Smith hasn't commented publicly on his arrest and his current legal troubles. UFC CEO Dana White recently commented on Smith's arrest, stating he ‘didn't expect' to learn of Smith's current predicament.

Smith returned to Mixed Martial Arts earlier this year at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 9, defeating former UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman by first-round submission. He defeated the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, and Shogun Rua during his UFC tenure.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM