Stephen Thompson, former UFC welterweight title challenger, explained why he turned down a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov. According to "Vanderboy," he asked the league management for a fight with a puncher just like himself.
"In my last two fights I didn't give up and went into the octagon against the best grapplers in the welterweight division, but now I asked to be given a puncher... It makes no sense to fight a serious grappler again. Let me work in my line of work, especially if we're talking about wrestling again. They insisted on this fight, but it just didn't make sense. The fans don't need it either."
As a reminder, Thompson has lost his last two fights in a row, losing to Burns and Muhammad.