Jafel Filho claims Muhammad Mokaev tapped to 3 submission attempts at UFC 286, considering appeal
Jafel Filho promised to be “a thorn in the side” of unbeaten prospect Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 286 and felt he did just that this past Saturday in London. In fact, he feels wronged by calls that he feels referee Herb Dean missed during the match.
The UFC debutant threatened Mokaev with multiple submission attempts over the course of the three-round flyweight bout before losing via rear-naked choke in the final frame, and echoes the social media complaints regarding an alleged tap.
“[Mokaev tapped] at least three times,” Filho said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I felt him tapping on my back like he was hiding, with malice. There was another situation I went for the guillotine and then attacked his injured shoulder, he tapped and I loosened it up a little bit.
“I was looking at the referee the entire time. The kneebar, I felt him tapping with his foot and the referee asked him, ‘Tap?’ I loosened it, and he was able to twist his knee a little bit.”
Mokaev said during the post-fight press conference he “definitely” did not tap in the first round.
Idk if u caught this, but at 57 secs in round 1, Mokaev clearly taps… pic.twitter.com/3DyVRWQ7jx
— SwoleeSharkk (@Frankie__FAB) March 18, 2023
Filho felt that the fight was tied 19-19 going into the third rounds, and two of the judges saw it that way — the third judge had Mokaev up 20-18. Filho said his manager Andre Pederneiras is reviewing the video to make a decision whether or not they will file an appeal and attempt to overturn the result.
The Brazilian flyweight said he respects Mokaev as a fighter and has no ill will towards him, but would love to rematch the Russian-English talent down the line.
“I don’t know how much time he’s going to need, he tore some ligaments and will need a long time to recover,” Filho said. “But I think a rematch would be ideal, especially with all the buzz coming out from this fight.”