UFC London’s Charles Johnson: People say Muhammad Mokaev fights like a veteran, but he ‘fights with his ego’

LONDON – Charles Johnson thinks Muhammad Mokaev will be shooting for takedowns early in their fight.

Johnson (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) faces Mokaev (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 208 event, which takes place at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.

Mokaev is known for his elite grappling, but Johnson sees an overzealous approach from him and plans on making him pay on the feet.

“He’s young and he fights that way sometimes,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “People say he fights like a veteran, but he fights with his ego. He comes forward, he’s a pressure fighter and I think there are some things in the fight we can take advantage of. I do expect him to come forward, but I do expect him to try and stand with me and it just takes one shot.

“So I feel like if anything doesn’t start going his way, he’ll start being very grapple-heavy. People go to where they’re comfortable. When they get in trouble, they go to what’s comfortable, so I expect that to happen pretty soon in this fight.”

Mokaev is one of the highest-touted prospects in the sport. An amateur champion, Mokaev burst onto the UFC scene in March when he took out Cody Durden in less than a minute. Johnson is aware of Mokaev and even recalls training with him a few years ago in Thailand.

“I’m familiar with him,” Johnson said. “It’s MMA, he’s a good wrestler, he’s a good martial artist and he’s got a lot of amateur experience, so I’m familiar with his story and we spent a very little bit of time which each other on the mats at Tiger Muay Thai. So I’ve seen him before.

“He was a good wrestler, good grappler, very control-oriented, and we did a little bit of standup and it wasn’t too much for anybody to hang their hat on. I got the better of him, but it’s been two years, so we’ll see.

“I think he does great for his age. I think he’s doing great, but he’s doing what he should do when you’ve been groomed for this. He’s been groomed to be what he is now. So I think he’s doing exactly what he should do, and that takes putting in a lot of work and effort. So I respect him, but I’m not surprised by what he’s doing. What he’s doing is what he should be doing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.