Shavkat Rakhmonov Agrees With Dana White’s Stance on Officials, Makes a Promise for Stephen Thomson at UFC 296

None of Shavkat Rakhmonov‘s fights have ever gone to the judges’ scorecard. The undefeated welterweight has finished his opponent in all fifteen of his professional MMA fights. As he sets up to face Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC 296, it seems that he has similar intentions.

A victory over #6 ranked ‘Wonderboy’ would certainly put the Kazak in the title run. There’s even buzz that he might face #2 ranked welterweight Belal Muhammad for official no. 1 title contender status if he wins. As the 29-year-old believes and recognized in a recent interview, stopping Thompson early would certainly help his case, echoing Dana White’s views!

Shavkat Rakhmonov agrees with Dana White on judges’ decisions

Rakhmonov was asked whether he felt added pressure while fighting to keep his undefeated streak intact and if that gave him the extra push to try and finish his opponents. The #5 ranked welterweight agreed and said that his main goal was to get the win. “[To] finish the fight is great. But what is most important for me is to get the win,” he said.

The interviewer reminded him of Dana White’s comments about leaving the result to the judges and asked Kazak, almost rhetorically, if he ever wanted to leave the decision to the judges’ scorecard. “Dana White likes to say never leave it in the hands of the judges, you know… you’ve never left it in the hands of the judges, and I guess you never want to?” the interviewer asked Rakhmonov.

Rakhmonov said that he did not trust the judges, which is why he did not want to leave the decision to their scorecard. “Yeah I prefer not to leave it in the hands of the judges, you know. You cannot really trust judges these days. You can’t be sure in that [judges decision]. That’s why I prefer [not to leave the] decision to them,” the undefeated welterweight added.

Rakhmonov looking to finish Thompson

In a recent conversation with UFC.com, Shavkat Rakhmanov revealed that he had welcomed the ‘Wonderboy’ fight as he respected the 40-year-old’s elite striking abilities. “I was happy when I found out that Stephen Thompson was my next opponent because he’s a great fighter and I like how he fights,” Rakhmonov said.

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He promised that just as he had finished all prior opponents, he would finish Thompson, which, he felt would show he was ready to fight for the 170-pound title. “I finished all my fights and I’ll finish this one and that will mean that I’m ready for the title shot next,” the Kazak told Gavin Porter. What are your predictions for UFC 296? Let us know in the comments section below.

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