Sayif Saud explains why Alonzo Menifield was so “pissed off” with “sauced up” Askar Mozharov: “We just kind of blocked it out””

By Cole Shelton - September 2, 2022

Alonzo Menifield had one of the more unusual UFC fight weeks in recent memory.

Alonzo Menifield

Menifield was set to welcome Askar Mozharov to the Octagon back at UFC Vegas 56 in June, in what was expected to be a banger of a fight. However, fight week was an unusual one as Mozahrov had a record of 25-7 but by the time he made the walk to the Octagon his record was 18-13 as he had used fake names and had fights that never took place on his record.

In the fight itself, Menifield quickly got Mozharov down and earned a first-round TKO. After the win, Menifield looked pissed off, and according to his head coach, Sayif Saud it was due to the fact Mozharov was trash-talking him during the fight.

“We just kind of blocked it out. I had gotten some videos of this kid, somebody sent me videos of him because we were looking for videos of his fights all camp and we found some,” Saud said about Menifield-Mozharov on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I had identified one where I saw him on his back and he kind of gave up and I was like there it is. That guy is dangerous but he was obviously sauced up and he looked like a different guy. Yeah, he had a messed up record but he was throwing bombs in there. On the ground, he should some quit so that was our plan to take him down, get him into the crucifix, and elbow him in the face. Alonzo did it perfectly, exactly how we wanted to.

“He didn’t let the record thing bother him and it didn’t bother me but what bothered him was the guy was talking to him in the middle of the fight and saying shit to him,” Saud continued about Menifield. “That didn’t work out well for that guy. That is what pissed him off, Alonzo isn’t much of a shit talker, he isn’t a disrespectful guy, he didn’t appreciate the disrespect. We move on, man.”

Not only did Askar Mozharov have a fake record but he was then flagged by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a failed drug test. With that, the UFC decided to release the Ukrainian fighter after the loss to Alonzo Menifield.

As for Menifield, he is set to return to the Octagon on October 15 against Misha Cirkunov.

What did you make of the entire Alonzo Menifield-Askar Mozharov fight week?


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