No. 5 ranked UFC welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov believes that if he defeats Stephen Thompson early, he should surpass Belal Muhammad in the title race and become the next opponent for the division’s reigning champion.
“Yes, that’s right,” “Nomad” said at the media press conference. “I believe that if I finish Thompson, I should fight for the title – my goal is to win the belt and bring it to Kazakhstan.”
“Stephen Thompson has a very difficult style and I had to adapt to his style, the base of which is karate. I had to make small changes because of the way he moves and kicks. I had sparring partners who imitated him well, and I believe I am ready for this”
The welterweight bout between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Stephen Thompson will be the third main event of UFC 296, which takes place Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, and Belal Muhammad, ranked second in the division’s rankings, will insure the main event’s number one bout, a title clash between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/33398-shavkat-rakhmonov-nazval-pretendentskim-boj-so-stivenom-tompsonom.html?rand=19907
