By Caoilte de Barra
UFC 286 in London, England, was yet another UFC card featuring IMMAF alumni. Three former IMMAF medalists made the walk on Saturday, March 18 and did not disappoint.
First up was Christian Leroy Duncan. The undefeated Englishman was signed to the promotion following an impressive run in Cage Warriors, where he reached the pinnacle of the middleweight division. The two-time IMMAF medalist was tasked with a tough debut in Dusko Todorovic.
The bout saw Duncan extend his win streak to eight and add another finish to his record, albeit not in the manner he may have wished. Less than two minutes into the contest, Todorovic fell to the canvas due to an injury to his knee, forcing the bout to be stopped.
Two bouts later, Muhammad Mokaev continued his rise up the flyweight division. At only 22 years of age, Mokaev is hoping to become the youngest champion in UFC history. Throughout the bout, we saw Mokaev’s high-level wrestling on display. However, in the final round, he was caught in a kneebar by his opponent, Jafel Filho and had to dig deep to escape.
Once out of the submission, the two-time junior world champion swiftly went to work in hunt of a finish, which came via rear-naked choke with less than thirty seconds remaining. The win sees Mokaev remain undefeated across both his amateur and pro career.
Last up was 2015 European gold medalist Jack Shore to close out the preliminary card. On the back of his first career loss, the Welshman moved up a weight division for his highly anticipated bout with Makwan Amirkhani and did not look out of place in his newfound division.
Despite a slow start in the opening round, Shore picked up the pace in the second, showing off his slick striking before getting the back of Amirkhani late in the round to get the submission.
Shore’s win rounded out the night for the former IMMAF competitors as they continue to make waves in the UFC.
