Welterweight fan favorite Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson has seemingly accepted a fight with undefeated division standout Shavkat Rakhmonov.
The announcement came courtesy of Thompson who revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he had accepted the matchup for UFC 296 on December 16.
“UFC offered and I’ve accepted, @Rakhmonov1994 let’s close out the year strong. Dec 16 can’t wait,” ‘Wonderboy’ wrote.
It didn’t take long for ‘Nomad’ to respond, seemingly accepting Thompon’s challenge.
“Let’s go!” Rakhmonov replied.
Let’s go! 👊🏼 https://t.co/YN7my3cg2G
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) September 22, 2023
Stephen Thompson was originally scheduled to return on July 29 at UFC 291, but his opponent, Michel Pereira, stepped on the scale significantly overweight ahead of their welterweight scrap. ‘Wonderboy’ declined to move forward with the fight and instead turned his attention toward landing another bout before the clock ran out on 2023.
Initially, all signs pointed toward Thompson stepping inside the Octagon with former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman after the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ suggested that a fight between the two made a lot of sense at this point in their careers.
With that bout seemingly off the table, ‘Wonderboy’ will look to end Shavkat Rakhmonov’s nine-year-long undefeated streak as part of the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year.
Can ‘Wonderboy’ End Shavkat Rakhmonov’s Undefeated Streak
Making his UFC debut in 2020, ‘Nomad’ has secured five-straight wins inside the Octagon, extending his record to an undeniably impressive 17-0. Rakhmonov has finished all five of his UFC opponents, securing submission victories over division notables, including Neil Magny and Geoff Neal.
Thompson, 40, is likely on the last legs of his illustrious career. As a result, ‘Wonderboy’ will be gunning hard for one more crack at the welterweight world title and a victory over Rakhmonov could be a big step toward getting there. Thompson goes into the high-stakes scrap with a 3-2 record in his last five appearances, securing victories over Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal, and Kevin Holland whilst suffering setbacks against Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.
Check out some of Stephen Thompson’s greatest hits inside the Octagon below:
