“It is 100 percent and I believe I can,’ he answered when asked if his goal remains to become the youngest champion in UFC history. Jon Jones, who was 23 years and 242 days old when he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to claim the light heavyweight title at UFC 128 on March 19, 2011, currently holds the record, giving Mokaev more than two years to accomplish the feat.
“This opponent is good to maybe get me Top 15 guys. Even if it’s not Top 15, instead of fighting debut guys or guys on losing streaks — better to fight a good name to get to the top.
Plans and goals are great but, at the end of the day, it comes down to performance and execution on fight night, and despite having yet to set foot inside the Octagon, Mokaev is steadfast in his belief that he can hang with the best the division has to offer right now.
“They’re all good,” he said when asked about the top tier talent in the 125-pound weight class. “At the professional level, it’s not like they have some crazy skills that you don’t know — you’re going in there, you’re going to hit one-two, low kick, takedowns, so you just have to be mentally ready, sharp, having a good training camp without headaches.
“If you go in, you can compete against anybody at the top in the world,” he added. “I don’t see anybody special.”
Saturday night, the young newcomer gets to start justifying his advanced billing and showing others he’s as good as anyone in the flyweight division.
Don’t miss a single round of UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Aspinall, live from the O2 Arena in London, on Saturday, March 19 on ESPN+ (US) and UFC Fight Pass (outside the US). Prelims begin at 1pm ET/10am PT. Main card begins at 4pm ET/1pm PT.
