Stephen Thompson previously turned down Shavkat Rakhmonov fight: 'I didn't know who he was'

27/09/2023 22:00

Stephen Thompson knows there's only one way for him to get to the top in the UFC.

At UFC 296, "Wonderboy" is scheduled to fight the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0), an opponent he admits he knew little about until recently. Since making his UFC debut in 2020, Rakhmonov has defeated five opponents (including ranked welterweights Geoff Neal and Neil Magny) while maintaining a perfect finishing rate.

On The MMA Hour on Monday, Thompson explained how he ended up being booked against Rakhmonov — currently No. 4 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings ahead of the No. 8 Thompson — despite passing on the opportunity in early 2022.

"I wanted [Kamaru] Usman, because Usman called me out, but the UFC already has something set up for him and I wanted someone that was ranked above me," Thompson said. "Most of the guys that I've faced have been ranked behind me. The Geoff Neals and the Vicente Luques, [Michel] Pereira, which you let these guys come up they should be able to make weight, but I wanted somebody ranked above me and it didn't matter really who it was. So the Usman fight didn't happen, so there was Shavkat. I know he was supposed to fight [Kelvin] Gastelum, which I think Gastelum [withdrew due to a] cut, so he didn't have anybody. I saw him on social media, I know he's ranked above me, and it just worked out for the both of us.

"It was a year-and-a-half ago, maybe, I think, the UFC wanted me to fight Shavkat, and to be honest with you, I didn't know who he was at the time. I think he's only had, like, five fights in the UFC. Obviously, I turned it down, I didn't know who the guy was, and then after that I tuned in and saw him fight Neil Magny, saw him fight Geoff Neal, and I'm like, 'Bro, this dude's legit,' and now he's ranked above me. So anybody that's ranked above me, I told the UFC I'm down for. This is the guy I think could possibly be welterweight champ at some point. He's that good, undefeated, I think he has a 100 percent finish rate, so what better guy to go out there and show the world and the UFC that I deserve a title shot by fighting this guy?"

Thompson is a two-time welterweight title challenger, having fought Tyron Woodley to a majority draw at UFC 205 and then lost a majority decision to Woodley in an immediate rematch at UFC 209. He's continued to fight high-level competition, but a 4-5 record (including a win over Kevin Holland in his most recent outing) since the second Woodley fight has left him outside of the championship picture.

Given Rakhmonov's run of form, Thompson understands why he's suddenly having to chase the younger fighter up the rankings.

"The dude is, what, 17-0?" Thompson said. "He's 17-0, but I think his most notable guys were Neil Magny and Geoff Neal, in the UFC anyway. Yeah, I think there's a reason why he's up there.

"He's a great fighter, he's undefeated, there's a lot of undefeated guys in the UFC. You would think that they would put those guys together, because we have so many undefeated, Ian Garry, he's undefeated. You have Shavkat. … So what better guy to show the UFC that I deserve a No. 1 shot or a title than to fight the dude that nobody wants to fight."

There's plenty to gain for Thompson but also plenty of risk with the matchup and not only because Rakhmonov will likely be favored heading into fight night. What makes Rakhmonov such a dangerous opponent for Thompson is his outstanding wrestling, an area of MMA that gave Thompson fits in losing one-sided decisions to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns.

Knowing this, Thompson's strategy going into the fight is anything but a mystery.

"No. 1, defend the takedown," Thompson said. "Keep the fight standing. He's a very dangerous striker, but I feel like he's kind of basic when it comes to the striking, he doesn't change a whole lot. But where I feel like he's going to win the fight is going to be getting me to the ground. Even with Kevin Holland, he's not the type of guy to shoot on you. He waits for guys to shoot on him and finishes guys. What was he doing the last three to four rounds? He was shooting in on me, he was trying to get me down and I feel like that's where it's going to go.

"He's going to be trying to shoot, trying to get me to the ground, or at least look for a guillotine or D'Arce. He's got that 77-inch reach, really long arms, which guys like him are really good at the guillotines and the D'Arces, the anaconda chokes. So I feel like that's where he's going to try to get me. So my goal, obviously, keep the fight standing and pick him apart."