Muhammad Mokaev books opponent for Karate Combat debut

Muhammad Mokaev has his opponent for his Karate Combat debut.

The former UFC flyweight standout is set to face face Bolat Zamanbekov on May 2 in Dubai, promotion officials told MMA Fighting on Thursday. The bantamweight matchup co-headlines the show and is to be contested for three three-minute rounds under Karate Combat rules.

Karate Combat 54 is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight clash between champion Sam Alvey and Tyrone Spong.

One of the best flyweights in the world in MMA, Mokaev went 7-0 inside the UFC cage with key wins over Manel Kape, Alex Perez and Tim Elliott before parting ways with the promotion this past July. He made short work of Joevincent So in his return to Brave CF in December to improve to 13-0 as a professional.

Zamanbekov holds an MMA record of 8-3, having lost his most recent appearance via submission to Avazbek Kholmirzaev at ONE Championship in February. The Kazakhstani talent won eight of nine MMA bouts outside of ONE.