New UFC Star Compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov

How NFTs, Fan Tokens and Marketing Could Allow Him to Reach Global Fame

2022 could be the year we see the emergence of a new icon in the UFC as Muhammad Mokaev heads into the organization. The 21-year-old born in Dagestan, a republic of Russia, recently signed his first deal with Dana White, becoming one of the youngest contracted fighters on his books.

It's quite a rise to prominence for the young man who has endured a tough time in his life so far; Mokaev headed to the UK with his father as a refugee aged just 12. However, in his new homeland, he got his head down and trained with the aim of becoming the youngest flyweight champion in the UFC after being introduced to wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He's undoubtedly tracking in the right direction, too, after earning an impressive 23-0 record as an amateur on top of his back-to-back IMMAF World junior bantamweight titles in 2018 and 2019. Since turning pro, he's remained undefeated, which led to the excitement about his potential, and his performances have made onlookers compare him to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov is, of course, one of the most revered fighters in the world who retired as the undefeated UFC lightweight champion. While that is certainly the element that draws comparisons for Mokaev, Nurmagomedov set a precedent outside the ring that the young fighter could follow. His earnings top $21m, with his additional income pushing his value beyond $30m. One aspect of marketing Nurmagomedov exploited is fan tokens and NFTs, a growing trend in sports. Fan tokens offer fans access to their heroes, and they first sprang up in football. The fan token blueprint there is for fans to have a say in club decisions and get access to exclusive content, but they're a great way to monetize digital followings in the wider context. If Mokaev is to live up to his comparison with Nurmagomedov, then he may have to exploit this growing trend as well as win fights in the ring. How that might look, and how they would differ from club fan tokens, is probably best identified by looking at Nurmagomedov's offerings, including Gold, Platinum and Diamond cards with benefits such as meeting the fighter. The financial benefit is clear, and the market is only going to grow exponentially in the future.

Before that, Mokaev will have to build a digital fanbase by doing the bread and butter business in the ring. He is awaiting his first fight in the UFC and, it's suggested that it could come as early as March 2022, but his opponent is to be confirmed; that bout is the first step for the fighter who is certainly planning out his course towards his ultimate goal. After recently becoming a UK citizen, he wants to start his time in the organization by having his first battle in the country where he now lives. He's setting his sights on a fight with Cody Durden, and Mokaev has already made a bold claim he's certainly keen to promote himself, as he said: 'I'm gonna make him retire and send him to America.' He will also be hoping to make enough to allow himself to retire undefeated, possibly by exploiting that new technology, as well as his opponent's weaknesses.

Should the 21-year-old get that first success in the Octagon and move forward, his aims for the remainder of the year are to get into the top five in the UFC flyweight division and become a contender for the title. Mokaev is a confident young fighter who says his fighting IQ is better than anyone else in the division, but that remains to be seen. There's no doubt Mokaev is a prospect, but he's got 29 fights ahead of him to see if he can match the record of the legend that he's being compared to. If he does, he might also soon have his own NFT range and move into that $30m bracket quicker than the legend Nurmagomedov.