“Strong”- Dana White Gives Daunting Challenge to Stephen Thompson Against Shavkat Rakhmonov for UFC 296 Just Weeks After Controversy Surrounding Fight Purse

Stephen Thompson is ready to fight the undefeated champion and we are there for it. There have been many changes in the UFC 296 fight card over the past several months but now, it looks like things are set for good. And ‘Wonderboy’ himself has confirmed, accepting a very thrilling fight on his recent X post.

Thompson was originally meant to fight another fighter but couldn’t. The fight set to go down on December 16th, in fact, could have featured a whole set of different fighters if it weren’t for unexpected events. Here’s everything you need to know.

Stephen Thompson will fight Shavkat Rakhmonov

Stephen Thompson has emerged as an eight-time champion by his sheer knockout capacity.  Now, as he gears up to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296, the fighter put up a tweet sparking a lot of chatter among the fans. But it wasn’t always supposed to be this way.

‘Wonderboy’ was scheduled for a thrilling fight earlier this year against Alex Pereira at UFC 291. Unfortunately, ‘Poatan’ didn’t make weight for the fight and it ended up getting canceled on short notice. Thompson was left understandably upset over it.

“I made weight this morning as I have done every fight during my 11 + year UFC career. My opponent did not. . . . myself and my team felt that it’s ultimately not smart for us to move forward with this fight.” He wrote in the caption after the fight was called off.

Earlier today, Dana White confirmed Thompson’s first fight this year. This comes after the controversy of Thompson not even being paid to show up to the fight for UFC 291. Since the fight didn’t happen, the money didn’t go through.

“Wonderboy, coming off a TKO win over Kevin Holland and Rakhmonov is undefeated, 17-0, with a hundred percent finish rate,” White teased in a video he uploaded to his X handle.

Now, with Thompson confirmed to fight Rakhmonov months after the UFC 291 ordeal, the tweer states: “UFC offered and I’ve accepted, @Rakhmonov1994 let’s close out the year strong. Dec 16 can’t wait”. However, this fight card could have been a lot different if it wasn’t for Conor McGregor’s injury. Originally, the fight featured ‘The Notorious’, and fans were almost convinced it was happening.

Conor McGregor forced to back out of UFC 296 bout

McGregor injured his shin during the Dustin Poirier fight in 2021. So it was obvious that the star would have to go and recover. Once he was feeling a bit better, a fight against Michael Chandler was teased but an official date never quite came through. However, ‘The Notorious’ claimed that he will be facing off against Chandler in December.

Also Read: Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson Reveals Conor McGregor’s Strange “Superpower” After Meeting Him

The news was never confirmed. McGregor had to undergo drug testing by USADA and that held him back from entering the cage again. Now, his time to compete right this year has passed, and looks like Thompson’s fight has replaced what could have been the ‘Mystic Mac’s’ great return.

So it looks like the fans will have to wait until they see their favorite trash-talking Irishman in the cage again. What are your thoughts on this?

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