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Shavkat Rakhmonov doesn’t need a win over Stephen Thompson to feel like he’s worthy of a UFC title shot. In his mind, he’s already there.
The undefeated Rakhmonov fights “Wonderboy” this Saturday at UFC 296 with a championship opportunity potentially on the line. Since making his UFC debut in 2020, Rakhmonov has run roughshod over the welterweight division, finishing all five of his opponents. A win over two-time title challenger Thompson could make him next in line to face the winner of Saturday’s main event between champion Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
That being said, Rakhmonov and his manager made it clear that nothing is guaranteed.
“No, I didn’t have this conversation or any promises, but all I want to say is that I’m already ready to fight for the title and the win over Stephen Thompson will be another reason to prove that I’m ready,” Rakhmonov said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after, I just want to focus on Stephen Thompson and we’ll find out what’s going to happen after.”
The contender picture at 170 pounds is murky at the moment, with Edwards and Covington having to settle their score first (and both already mentioning the possibility of moving up to middleweight to chase a second belt), and Belal Muhammad possibly having a leg up on the rest after being designated as the backup fighter for the UFC 296 main event.
Rakhmonov, 29, has given no indication that he’s in a hurry to be named No. 1 contender. If anything, he’s just happy to be back in action after a recent fight with Kelvin Gastelum fell through due to a Gastelum injury. When the Thompson fight was then offered for Dec. 16, Rakhmonov was eager to test himself against a proven veteran.
“At first, I was scheduled to fight Kelvin Gastelum and he pulled out because of injury and it was understandable, but then I started to hear that Stephen Thompson is willing to fight me and I was just glad that he wanted to fight me because it’s hard to get me a fight,” Rakhmonov said. “Even though he’s on the other side, he’s 40 years old, I still believe he’s a high-level athlete and it’s not easy to get him out from the top five or top 10. So I was just glad that someone accepted the fight with me.”
Considering Rakhmonov’s meteoric rise up the rankings — he is currently No. 4 at 170 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings — it wouldn’t surprise anyone if a win over Thompson vaulted him into a title shot in the near future. All Rakhmonov knows for sure is that he’ll be ready if the opportunity comes in 2024.
“Only God knows, but I wish to fight for the title next year,” Rakhmonov said. “My goal is to win this belt and to bring this belt back to Kazakhstan.”
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