Thompson does not consider the fight against Kazakh star Rakhmonov a punishment

Alexandr Ormanji Sept. 29, 2023, 7:13 a.m.

UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson spoke about the upcoming fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov.

“I don’t think the UFC punished me by giving me the fight against Rakhmonov. There was no agreement on a fight with Usman, so Shavkat will be his opponent. He was supposed to fight Gastelum, but I think Calvin was having trouble cutting weight, so he pulled out. I saw Shavkat’s challenge on social networks and found out that he was higher than me in the ranking. So this fight is beneficial for both of us. About a year and a half ago, the UFC already offered me a fight with Shavkat. But I’ll be honest, at the time I didn’t know who he was.”

Let us remind you that the fight between Thompson and Rakhmonov will take place on December 16 as part of UFC 296.

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