Stephen Thompson has proven himself to be a formidable opponent in the welterweight class, and he is unquestionably one of the best strikers currently competing in the UFC. However, supporters aren’t optimistic about his chances against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296 in December because it’s scheduled to take place in Russia.
“Wonderboy” recently disclosed that he has agreed to compete against the unbeaten Kazakh national on December 16, 2023, which will be the date of the final pay-per-view event held by the UFC in 2023. The person, who is now 40 years old, posted on X (which was then known as Twitter) and wrote:
“UFC offered, and I’ve accepted the challenge, @Rakhmonov1994, let’s finish the year on a high note. I can’t wait until December 16.”
With a perfect record of 17 wins and 0 losses, ‘Nomad’ is one of the most dangerous competitors in the UFC’s 170-pound class. He has finished every single one of his opponents.
Fans were understandably concerned for the veteran welterweight fighter Stephen Thompson as soon as it was announced that he had agreed to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov. They expressed their concerns in the comment area of a tweet that Stephen Thompson had posted.
Expansion of a Tweet
One of Thompson’s supporters jokingly cautioned him that Rakhmonov could force him into retirement and wrote:
“It looks like your career will come to an end as well, dude. You’ll be missed by me. Please be careful.”
Another supporter wrote in:
“Damn you, man. ” Was hoping for Usman but this is a fantastic fight anyway.
A user joked about it and wrote:
“Should’ve taken that fight against Ian Garry, my friend.”
Take a look at the following further responses:
screenshots taken from the account of @WonderboyMMA
screenshots taken from the account of @WonderboyMMA
After some time had passed, Dana White, CEO of the UFC, gave an official confirmation that the fight between Stephen Thompson and Shavkat Rakhmonov had been added to the main card of UFC 296. In addition to this, he disclosed that Paddy Pimblett will compete against Tony Ferguson on December 16 of this year.
Stephen Thompson vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov: Why did ‘Wonderboy’ reject a previous fight against ‘Nomad’?
Stephen Thompson, who is currently rated seventh in the welterweight division, had previously declined an identical offer from Shavkat Rakhmonov a year ago. However, Thompson has now made it public that he will fight Rakhmonov.
It would appear that the UFC had the intention of providing Rakhmonov with a high-profile stepping stone in the form of the two-time welterweight title challenger. Despite the fact that there were rumors circulating about a fight between Thompson and Rakhmonov taking place in 2018, the fight itself never took place.
In an interview that took place in 2022 with BJPenn.com, Stephen Thompson disclosed that he had turned down the opportunity to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov. He mentioned that he wanted to compete against some intriguing strikers despite his age and explained that he wanted to:
“UFC was talking about perhaps Shavkat, considering he just won over Neil Magny. I looked to the UFC and said, “Look, give me someone that is going to want to strike with me… We were taking a look at Li Jingliang, but he has a fight scheduled for later today. We were going to take that fight with Kevin Holland, but I wanted to fight on the Madison Square Garden card and he wanted to fight a little bit sooner.
