Mokaev blasts UFC and Dana White for 'bullsh*t narrative' damaging Basharat's reputation

Muhammad Mokaev has accused the UFC and CEO Dana White of deliberately damaging Farid Basharat’s reputation after the promotion declined to re-sign the undefeated bantamweight following his contract’s expiry in July, calling the organisation’s public framing of the departure a “bullshit narrative.”

Basharat finished his UFC tenure with a perfect 7-0 promotional record — 16-0 overall — after defeating John Garza at UFC 329, yet the UFC chose not to offer him a new deal. White had previously alluded to unspecified “reasons” beyond Basharat’s in-cage performance, with Basharat himself suggesting that a wrestling-heavy style and a perceived lack of finishes contributed to his exit.

Mokaev, who experienced his own contentious departure from the UFC in 2024 despite an unblemished record, took to Twitter to defend Basharat and challenge the promotion’s conduct. “When fighters are getting phone calls from bosses telling them, ‘If you keep wrestling like that, you’re going to get cut,’ then you’re basically telling fighters how you want them to fight,” Mokaev wrote. “At what point does that cross the line? Isn’t that influencing the competition?”

He continued: “And if you want to release a fighter, fine. But don’t then publicly say he was ‘hard to deal with’ or create some bullshit narrative about him that could damage his reputation and make other organizations think twice about signing him. Release fighters if you want. Just don’t try to damage their careers on the way out.”

Mokaev’s own exit from the UFC followed a pattern similar to Basharat’s. He relied on a wrestling-heavy approach that drew criticism for producing low-action bouts, and his tenure effectively ended after a flat decision win over Manel Kape at UFC 304 — a fight compounded by a fight-week altercation in which Mokaev admitted to throwing the first punch.

Since leaving the UFC, the 26-year-old has gone 4-0, finishing three of his last four opponents, though his profile in North America has remained limited. He currently sits at No. 7 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings at flyweight. Basharat, meanwhile, faces a similar challenge in rebuilding visibility outside the world’s largest MMA promotion after departing with his record still intact.