‘Wonderboy’ Doubts Shavkat Will ‘Stand And Bang’

Thompson expects to end up in a grappling war with Rakhmonov should the tide turn against the Kazakh fighter on the feet on December 16th.

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has a big task ahead of him at UFC 296: defeat Shavkat Rakhmonov, one of the most-hyped contenders in the welterweight division.

It’s a fight that “Wonderboy” turned down in the past. It’s a fight “Wonderboy” has angled to get out of. But it will finally happen on December 16th after a July fight with Michel Pereira fell through and the UFC refused to book him against Kamaru Usman.

In a new episode of Submission Radio, Thompson explained why he’s been so hesitant to fight Shavkat.

“When they had asked me to fight him before, this was a few years ago, I said no, just because I didn’t know who he was,” Thompson said. “He was fairly new on the scene, I was still in the top five. There were guys that were more deserving of that shot than him at the time.”

“But since then, since I first heard his name, I kept watch. I kept my eye on the guy, and the dude’s a beast. I mean, to see what he did to Neil Magny and to Geoff Neal, who I faced before. Which was a great fight, to be honest with you. Him finishing with that good old bulldog choke at the very end. The dude’s a beast. He’s undefeated, he’s got a hundred percent finish rate, and it just made sense at the time.”

For context, now Rakhmanov is ranked No. 5 while Thompson is No. 6 at 170 pounds.

“I wanted somebody ranked higher than me because I’ve been fighting guys who are ranked behind me for the past few years,” Thompson continued. “Understandable. But I was like, I got a small window to kind of do what I want to do with the fight game, and I want to fight someone in the top five. And they said Shavkat. Because for a second there, it was Kamaru Usman. Cause remember, he called me out.”

“And I was like, man, I wasn’t able to fight in July because of that whole debacle with my opponent not making weight. And then you had Usman call me. I’m like, dude, what better fight than to fight the number-one contender. I beat this guy, then I get another title shot. But obviously the UFC had different plans for Usman. But since I didn’t get him, then the best guy obviously who everybody’s saying is the best in the division, could possibly be the world welterweight champion in the near future, in Shavkat Rakhmonov. I’m like, let’s do it, man.”

It’s not exactly a stylistic fight that favors ol’ “Wonderboy.” Rakhmonov is a -500 favorite in the bout because he’s got a strong wrestling base that Thompson expects he’ll lean on if things get hairy on the feet.

“Now, do I feel like Shavkat is going to stand there bang with me? I don’t think so,” he said. “I think eventually he’s going to shoot. He’s going to shoot in and try to get the fight to the ground, obviously. But he’s still a type of guy to try to finish. And I would rather go out on my shield than just somebody hold me there. You know what I mean?”

“One of the worst feelings that I have, is after a fight, walking through the airport and not having a bump or a bruise or an ache to show the battle that I had the night before. And when I fought those two fights, with Belal and Gilbert, I was literally walking to the airport [with nothing]. The best feeling is walking through the airport the next day, can barely move, man. People are looking at you like, what did this guy go through last night?”

“It’s that feeling that I just went through a battle, a war, and survived,” he concluded. “Or, you know, even win or a loss, I’m still here. You have those remnants of the battle of the night before. And I’m gonna get that. And that’s what I’m most looking forward, to be honest, to fight with Shavkat.”