Former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson, who will share the octagon with Shavkat Rakhmonov in his next fight, had two good reasons for accepting a fight with the undefeated Kazakhstani finisher.
Firstly, it’s the fee for the scrapped fight with Michel Pereira, which “Vanderboegh” never got paid, and secondly, if he wins, the American expects to get a title shot.
“The deal is that if I fight Shawkat, they will add what they owe me for the last fight,” Thompson said in an interview with Chris Weidman. “Also, I think if I win, Shavkat plans to fight the winner of the Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington fight for the title, so if I beat that guy, I expect to get another title fight.”
As a reminder, the welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Shavkat Rakhmonov, which the American fighter will enter as a more than four-time underdog, will take place on December 16 at UFC 296 in Las Vegas, with Leon Edwards and Colby Covington headlining that numbered event.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32724-stiven-tompson-ob-yasnil-soglasie-na-boj-s-shavkatom-rakhmonovym.html?rand=19907
