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.