UFC star Muhammad Mokaev refuses to tap out despite bending knee in submission before turning fight to win

MUHAMMAD MOKAEV somehow escaped a squat lock to beat Jafel Filho by submitting himself.

The flyweight looked in all sorts of trouble in the third and final round when his leg twisted in a kneebar.

But the former amateur world champion refused to tap and eventually got back on his feet.

And Mokaev will be glad he did too, as he managed to trip Filho and secure a rear naked choke.

Filho failed to break free and was forced to fold, giving Mokaev a remarkable turnaround win.

The Russian-born, Manchester-raised youngster was barely able to walk when he limped to his feet to celebrate his tenth professional win.

Mokaev, later seen on crutches, said: “To be honest DC I have to finish.

“This is my fourth fight in 12 months. I’m 22 years old, I’ll be tenth after this fight, after Jon Jones, who else does that?”

UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall – who works for BT Box Office – was full of praise for the sturdy Mokaev.

Aspinall said: “What did I say about the mentality of this man? This man is different from the others.

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“The things that this guy has been through in his personal life, the guy has been through so much adversity.

“The guy won’t give up on something like that.

“His mental strength, his physical strength, at least 95 percent of people, 99 percent would definitely have resorted to this technique.”

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