Phumi Nkuta did not hesitate when the call came. Asked to replace Muhammad Mokaev on the upcoming Rousey vs. Gina Carano card, Nkuta accepted a short-notice fight against former ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes after Mokaev could not secure a visa in time to travel to the United States.
“You don’t got to ask me twice,” Nkuta said of the opportunity. The unbeaten flyweight, who is 11-0, said the chance arrived while he was already in the middle of a busy stretch of training. He had been sparring, helping Alex Perez prepare for Perez’s May 30 fight, and staying ready for whatever came next. “I was in the gym, locked in and ready,” Nkuta said.
The fight gives Nkuta the kind of name he has been chasing. He pointed to Moraes’ win over Demetrious Johnson as the sort of result that can change how a career is viewed. “This is a guy that beat ‘Mighty Mouse’ [Demetrious Johnson]. I want that name on my record. So of course, I had to say yes,” he said. Nkuta said he had been itching for another fight for a while, adding that the timing felt right because he had stayed active and had even competed maybe a month ago or a month and a half ago. A link to the booking was also available through Mma Fights Tonight: Phumi Nkuta steps in vs. Adriano Moraes on short notice.
The move came through Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, which was involved in the opportunity. The company pays fighters a flat wage instead of the familiar show-and-win structure, and Nkuta said the money attached to the bout is already life-changing. “The money for this fight is already life-changing,” he said. “Frustrated? No, but now that I got this fight is it rewarding? Absolutely yes.”
Nkuta said he was not upset that a UFC offer never arrived earlier in his career. He has long been viewed as one of the top prospects outside the UFC, but the promotion did not sign him as a free agent, through a short-notice opening, or via The Contender Series. Flyweight also narrowed his options, since other major organizations such as the PFL do not offer his division. Nkuta said he had come to terms with that reality. “I think if I was younger then I might be frustrated but for me it wasn’t really that frustrating because I love my life,” he said. “I’m at such a good point in my life.”
That is what makes this booking matter now. Nkuta is 11-0, already prepared, and stepping into a fight that could carry immediate value because of the opponent and the timing. Moraes brings a higher profile and a track record built at the top of the flyweight class, while Nkuta arrives with little wasted motion and no sign of nerves. “I think it is the perfect scenario. You want to know why? Because if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be happening,” he said. For a fighter who had been waiting for a major break without sounding consumed by the wait, this is the kind of opening that can make all the difference.
