Muhammad Mokaev thought he’d done everything right. Training camp completed, weight under control, the opponent informed, and a high-profile fight versus Adriano Moraes on the first-ever Netflix MMA card seemed locked in. Then, one week before fight night, everything fell apart—and the undefeated flyweight is making one thing very clear: he does not believe the blame belongs with him.

After being forced to pull out from the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano event due to visa issues, Mokaev publicly pushed back on the narrative that his entry into the United States had been denied. He claims it was never the issue. And his words shift the spotlight directly toward Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotions.

“Hi guys, visa was not refused,” he wrote on X. “I still can enter to the US. But to fight in the states, you need to have P1 visa.

“I was waiting on MVP for the working visas part; not my fault. I did my camp, my weight was good, I was ready to go 💪🏼.”

The fact that Muhammad Mokaev apparently saw the trouble coming adds to the sting of the situation. He revealed that he had already warned his opponent Adriano Moraes four weeks before the event that visa complications might become a problem.

“I wish Adrino Morales good luck,” he added. “He is a good guy we have trained at American Top Team in the past; that’s why I warned him 4 weeks prior to the event about the visa situation.”

Now, instead of one of the most technically intriguing fights on the entire card, fans will see short-notice replacement Phumi Nkuta step in. For MVP, it is another late shake-up on a historic event.

Just days ago, Jeff Creighton replaced Lorenz Larkin, who was set to face Jason Jackson in a welterweight matchup on May 16 before announcing that he’s out of the fight due to an injury.

Now, the Jake Paul-led promotion finds itself in a similar spot, and for something that ‘The Punisher’ claims he saw coming but they didn’t and failed to fix. And that’s why it feels so frustrating to Muhammad Mokaev.

It wasn’t a fight lost, not in camp, on the scale, or in the cage. He lost it to paperwork, which he claims was never his responsibility. Fortunately for his opponent Adriano Moraes, Nkuta is also a very highly regarded talent. In fact, ‘Turbo’ has been waiting for his chance to show his talents at a global scale.

Muhammad Mokaev’s MVP replacement begged on his knees for a UFC contract

For Phumi Nkuta, this late replacement is more than a short-notice opportunity; it is the break he has been looking for for years. While Muhammad Mokaev steps out of the spotlight, annoyed by visa issues, Phumi Nkuta enters with a different kind of hunger: the desperation of a fighter who has repeatedly knocked on MMA’s greatest door and been ignored.

And he didn’t hide how much he needed that opportunity. Following one of his most impressive regional wins last year, ‘Turbo’ dropped to his knees in the cage and openly begged Dana White and the UFC matchmakers for a contract.

“You wanna talk about dreams? This is all I got,” Nkuta admitted. “This sport is all I got. This is all I wanna do, and I’m telling you, man. Whether it’s Mick Maynard, Sean Shelby, Hunter Campbell—UFC brass—I’ll do it like GSP.

“I’ll get on my knees—please! Give me a shot at the UFC and I’ll tell you a thousand percent you won’t regret it.”

It was emotional, honest, and impossible to fake. Yet, the call never came. Even after continuing to win, with an unbeaten 11-0 record and titles across multiple promotions, the UFC passed.

Now, thanks to chaos elsewhere, the platform he wanted may have arrived in a different form. Against Adriano Moraes on Netflix, Nkuta unexpectedly receives millions of views in one night.

There’s no begging or waiting. Just a global stage and an opportunity to prove what he has always claimed: that he belongs among the sport’s top.