Did Muhammad Mokaev tear his ACL at UFC 286? The British flyweight provides an update

Dagestan-born British flyweight prospect Muhammad Mokaev took on Brazilian debutant Jafel Filho in a prelims bout at UFC 286. 'The Punisher' was a -800 favorite in some sportsbooks going into his fourth UFC fight (third at home).

However, the fight did not justify the odds as 'Pastor' put Mokaev through arguably the toughest test of his career so far. After going back and forth in the first two rounds, Filho caught 'The Punisher' in a vicious-looking kneebar in round 3.

After an immense display of grit in deciding not to tap, Mokaev miraculously slipped out. The 22-year-old then went on to score one of the biggest come-from-behind victories of all time by submitting the debutant with a rear-naked choke with hardly half a minute left on the clock.

Muhammad Mokaev has now provided an update on the injury caused due to the kneebar. 'The Punisher' claims to be unable to walk right now and is planning to do an MRI soon. Mokaev also stated that Filho had a "metal groin guard" and shared a picture showing that the affected knee had ballooned up. He took to Twitter to post the following:

"I will do MRI tomorrow morning , I hope it’s all good but I can’t walk at the moment but I’m still very happy with my performance 🥇"

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Did Muhammad Mokaev tap out at UFC 286?

Muhammad Mokaev extended his undefeated record to 17-0 with his come-from-behind submission win over Jafel Filho at UFC 286. However, the fight immediately became a topic of controversy as footage showed Mokaev tapping at one point.

Even more bewildering is the fact that 'The Punisher' did not tap to the brutal kneebar that hyperextended his knee. Mokaev's tap came late in round 1 as 'Pastor' landed a few blows to his head from guard.

Watch the footage below:

In the post fight press conference, Muhammad Mokaev mentioned a shoulder injury and even offered to prove it with 'scans' in the immediate aftermath of his UFC 286 clash against Filho. When asked about the controversial first-round tap, the 22-year-old said:

“In the first round? No, no, no. I did make a noise, so he squeezed more, got tight, but I was over his knees. If you look at the full guard, it was quite tight, but it wasn’t, I could still breathe. No, definitely no.”

Catch Mokaev's comments below: