Shavkat Rakhmonov has been having a hard time. Not in life, mind you, but in getting fights against Top 10 fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s got a big showcase coming up this Saturday, and he’s planning to make the most of it.
Rakhmonov, with a record of 17-0, is scheduled to meet Stephen Thompson, a two-time welterweight title challenger. The fight is set for UFC 296 on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main event? Leon Edwards, the current titleholder, defending his welterweight strap against Colby Covington.
Rakhmonov is currently sitting at No. 5 in the UFC’s official rankings. But a win over Thompson could catapult him into title contention. Why? Well, the Kazakh has finished all 17 of his professional MMA fights.
Rakhmonov believes he’s ready for a title fight and expects to do so soon. He hasn’t had a conversation with the UFC about it yet, though. “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,” he said on The MMA Hour.
The win over Stephen Thompson, he says, will be another reason to prove that he’s ready. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen after, but he’s focused on Thompson. He’s hoping to fight for the title next year and bring the belt back to Kazakhstan.
Rakhmonov is undefeated in five UFC outings. But finding higher-ranked opponents has always been a challenge. Even the sixth-ranked Thompson turned him down multiple times before finally accepting. Rakhmonov expressed his gratitude that such a veteran, high-level contender agreed to fight him.
“At first, I was scheduled to fight Kelvin Gastelum, and he pulled out because of injury. 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,” he said. He still believes Thompson is a high-level athlete, despite being 40 years old, and is glad someone accepted the fight with him.