Jake Paul is on a roll. As a promoter, he is taking big steps to land some of the hottest names in the MMA world for the first Netflix MMA event on May 16, co-promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. He has already roped in Ronda Rousey, Francis Ngannou, and Nate Diaz. But it seems like Paul wants more than just past-their-prime former UFC stars to be part of his ventures.

Now, Rousey, Ngannou, and Diaz were arguably some of the standout fighters of the leading MMA promotion. While ‘Rowdy’ boasted the stature of being the inaugural women’s UFC bantamweight champion, ‘The Predator’ and Diaz were big names that the UFC failed to retain. But the latest signing is quite different than these legends, except for the fact that he was exiled from Dana White’s roster.

Ex-UFC flyweight hints at signing with Most Valuable Promotions

Muhammad Mokaev is a flyweight fighter who joined the UFC in March 2022. And right from the get-go, he was deemed a promising star. But as Mokaev’s UFC career stretched, his relationship with the executives became thin. To that end, despite boasting an unblemished record of 7-0 in the promotion, they let him walk when his contract was fought out.

Although Mokaev was let go from the UFC, he has stated his desire to join them again. One of the reasons for that plea is to fulfill his dream of becoming a UFC champion. But of course, time and again, questions have been raised about Mokaev’s backstage behavior and disciplinary issues.

This has come not only from UFC’s side, but also from PFL’s executive camp. Notably, ahead of his UFC 304 fight against Manel Kape, Mokaev confronted Kape at the fighters’ hotel and even reportedly threw a sucker punch.

“Huge fight to announce @jakepaul gonna announce it soon!” wrote Muhammad Mokaev on X.

So, right after Mokaev left the leading MMA promotion, the PFL president, Ray Sefo, was asked if he would be interested in signing the promising flyweight fighter. However, citing Mokaev’s poor behavioral reputation of getting into backstage brawls with other fighters, Sefo seemingly showed no interest.

Although Sefo wanted no part of Mokaev in PFL, CEO Peter Murray contradicted, stating his liking for the flyweight star. Despite that, the potential signing never came to fruition. ‘The Punisher’ returned to Brave CF, where he currently reigns as the champion. But amid these tough times of finding a home after the UFC exit, Mokaev has hinted at finding a temporary one under Most Valuable Promotions and Jake Paul.

Although the official confirmation is yet to come, Mokaev would be just another former UFC star that Paul has roped in after Francis Ngannou, Nate Diaz, and Ronda Rousey, among others. And through this, of course, Paul is seemingly making attempts to elevate his promotion’s popularity by bringing such promising talents and legendary fighters on the same night.

On that note, how does the head honcho, Dana White, feel about it?

Dana White reacts to Nate Diaz joining Jake Paul’s promotion for Netflix MMA bout

While his relationship with Francis Ngannou and Muhammad Mokaev was tumultuous, Dana White shared a strong bond with Nate Diaz and Ronda Rousey. Ngannou, in particular, parted ways with the UFC over failed contract negotiations, which severely strained his relationship with White.

But Diaz had no spat as such, and seemingly left the leading MMA promotion in search of better, more lucrative fight opportunities. White was recently in discussions for Diaz’s UFC return, but the talks failed to materialize in a bout. The head honcho explained the reason why.

“He came in and met with me a couple of weeks ago,” White said during the UFC London post-fight news conference. “We had a good time, and I think Nate just got an offer he couldn’t refuse. I haven’t talked to him since then, but I’m happy for him.”

The first Netflix MMA event is now stacked. With ‘Rowdy’ headlining the event against Gina Carano, the undercard features some exciting matchups. Ngannou will be returning since his PFL victory over Renan Ferreira in 2024. And he will fight Philipe Lins in the co-main event.

Meanwhile, Diaz is set to come back to MMA after his 2022 victory over Tony Ferguson to fight Mike Perry. Now, Mokaev is in the mix.

On that note, who do you think will end up on the winning side at the Intuit Dome on May 16? Let us know in the comments below!