Shavkat Rakhmonov News

Joaquin Buckley
Shavkat Rakhmonov

Joaquin Buckley plans to step in for Stephen Thompson after ‘Wonderboy’ bails on Shavkat Rakhmonov fight: “He ain’t going to show up to that”

Susan Cox - November 24, 2023

Joaquin Buckley is saying he plans to step in for Stephen Thompson after ‘Wonderboy’ bails on his fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov. UFC 296 takes place on Saturday, December 16th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

Stephen Thompson, Shavkat Rakhmonov
Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson rejects notion that the UFC is punishing him with Shavkat Rakhmonov fight

Harry Kettle - September 29, 2023

UFC veteran Stephen Thompson has rejected the idea that he’s being punished by the promotion with a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov. While Stephen Thompson may be one of the most beloved fighters in the UFC, that doesn’t necessarily mean the company views him in that light. The reason why that may not be the case is because ‘Wonderboy’ was pretty vocal about not receiving his full pay for his canceled fight with Michel Pereira. His opponent failed to make weight for the contest, with Thompson refusing to go forward with the fight at a catchweight.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson explains why he took Shavkat Rakhmonov fight after previously not being interested in it

Cole Shelton - September 27, 2023

Stephen Thompson surprised many when he revealed on social media that he had accepted a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296. Thompson was offered Rakhmonov last year and told BJPENN.com in August 2022, that he turned it down because he wasn’t interested in the matchup. Part of the reason why ‘Wonderboy’ turned the fight down was because he wanted to face another striker, as he was coming off back-to-back losses to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns.

Stephen Thompson, Shavkat Rakhmonov
Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson verbally agrees to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296: "Can't wait"

Josh Evanoff - September 22, 2023

UFC welterweight contenders Stephen Thompson and Shavkat Rakhmonov will clash in December. ‘Wonderboy’ seemingly targeted Kamaru Usman after his canceled bout with Michel Pereira earlier this summer. At the time, Stephen Thompson stated that he was uninterested in facing up-and-comers such as Shavkat Rakhmonov. Instead, he would prefer to face former champions such as ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’. The bout was targeted for December after the former titleholder showed interest.

UFC

Shavkat Rakhmonov reacts after Kelvin Gastelum announces their fight is postponed due to injury: “Did you realize it was bad idea just now?”

Susan Cox - August 1, 2023

Shavkat Rakhmonov is reacting after Kevin Gastelum announced that their fight is postponed due to injury. It was to be Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0 MMA) vs Kevin Gastelum (18-8 MMA) on Saturday, September 16th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Shavkat Rakhmonov
Shavkat Rakhmonov

Dana White announces Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Kelvin Gastelum for co-main event of UFC Mexican Independence Day card

Cole Shelton - June 28, 2023

Shavkat Rakhmonov will be returning to the Octagon in September. Dana White took to social media to announce the UFC is holding a Mexican Independence Day card on September 16th at the T-Mobile Arena and Rakhmonov will take on Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event. The main event of the card sees Alexa Grasso defending her flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko in a rematch.

Shavkat Rakhmonov

Kelvin Gastelum accepts Shavkat Rakhmonov's callout: "Stylistically I’m horrible for him"

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023

Kelvin Gastelum is ready to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov next time out. After Gastelum announced he would be making the move to welterweight, Rakhmonov quickly called him out on social media. Although Gastelum did not immediately respond as he was on vacation, the TUF 17 winner has said he wants that fight and hopes it can happen on the Mexican Independence card on September 16.

Shavkat Rakhmonov
Kelvin Gastelum

Chael Sonnen slams Shavkat Rakhmonov for his callout of Kelvin Gastelum: “It was about as wimpy as you could do a callout”

Harry Kettle - May 30, 2023

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has questioned Shavkat Rakhmonov for his recent callout of returning welterweight Kelvin Gastelum. In his return to action last month, Kelvin Gastelum got back to winning ways with a solid victory over Chris Curtis. Ever since then, many have wondered what’s next for him – with Gastelum himself being open to the idea of a move back to welterweight.

Shavkat Rakhmonov

Khamzat Chimaev squashes beef with Shavkat Rakhmonov following recent social media spat

Harry Kettle - April 11, 2023

UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has seemingly squashed any potential beef with fellow fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov. Over the course of the last few years, there’s been a lot of talk surrounding Khamzat Chimaev and Shavkat Rakhmonov. Both men are undefeated, and both men have looked incredibly dominant during their time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson responds after Shavkat Rakhmonov taunts him with “who’s grappler now?” comment on Twitter

Lewis Simpson - March 7, 2023

Stephen Thompson has responded after Shavkat Rakhmonov taunts him following his UFC 285 victory over Geoff Neal. At the tail-end of 2022, Thompson found his way back into the win column after a back-and-forth brawl with Kevin Holland.

Dana White

UFC President Dana White says Colby Covington is ready to fight, likes the idea of ‘Chaos’ vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

Harry Kettle - March 6, 2023

UFC president Dana White has shown interest in booking Shavkat Rakhmonov to take on Colby Covington in his next fight. Last Saturday night, Shavkat Rakhmonov submitted Geoff Neal in what proved to be a sensational encounter at UFC 285. He had to overcome some real adversity, which included getting rocked once or twice, but he persevered and secured the finish late in the bout.

Shavkat Rakhmonov
UFC

Shavkat Rakhmonov calls for a title shot following his submission victory over Geoff Neal at UFC 285: “Give me title shot in Abu Dhabi”

Fernando Quiles - March 5, 2023

Shavkat Rakhmonov is riding high following a third-round submission finish over Geoff Neal, and he’s eyeing gold at welterweight. Rakhmonov and Neal shared the Octagon on the main card of UFC 285 this past Saturday night. In the end, Rakhmonov secured a rear-naked choke and that was all she wrote.

Shavkat Rakhmonov
Shavkat Rakhmonov

UFC 285 Results: Shavkat Rakhmonov stops Geoff Neal in Round 3 (Video)

Chris Taylor - March 4, 2023

Tonight’s UFC 285 main card lineup features a key welterweight contest between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal. Neal (15-4 MMA) will enter the bout on a two-fight winning streak, his most recent being a knockout victory over Vicente Luque. ‘Handz of Steel’ has gone 7-2 since joining the UFC ranks back in February of 2018.

Geoff Neal
Geoff Neal

"Pissed off" Geoff Neal expecting an early finish or "a three-round war" against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285: "I just feel disrespected"

Cole Shelton - February 28, 2023

Geoff Neal doesn’t think he is getting the respect he deserves heading into his UFC 285 fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Neal is set to take on Rakhmonov in a big fight for the welterweight division. The two were originally booked to fight back in January, but an injury to Neal forced the fight to be moved to UFC 285. After news of Neal’s withdrawal was made public, he got flooded with comments suggesting that he was scared of Rakhmonov, which he wasn’t happy about.

Shavkat Rakhmonov
UFC

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Geoff Neal rebooked for UFC 285 in March

Susan Cox - January 4, 2023

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Geoff Neal has been rebooked for UFC 285 in March. Rakhmonov (16-0 MMA) vs Neal (15-4 MMA) was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 14th of this year but was scratched due to ‘Handz of Steel‘ suffering an undisclosed injury.

Shavkat Rakhmonov
Khamzat Chimaev

Shavkat Rakhmonov hilariously reacts to Kevin Lee's callout of Khamzat Chimaev: "Where do I fit into this"

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2022

Shavkat Rakhmonov wants to know where he fits into the welterweight division. ‘Nomad’ has been out of action since his clash with Neil Magny in June. The bout was the biggest test of the undefeated fighter’s career thus far, but he was seemingly unfazed. Rakhmonov dominated the veteran en route to a second-round submission win.

Jorge Masvidal, UFC 261
Shavkat Rakhmonov

Shavkat Rakhmonov bumps Jorge Masvidal from the welterweight top 10 in latest UFC rankings update

Harry Kettle - October 5, 2022

Jorge Masvidal has fallen out of the UFC’s welterweight top 10 rankings, being replaced by Shavkat Rakhmonov. Over the course of the last few years, Jorge Masvidal hasn’t quite enjoyed the success he did upon breaking out into the mainstream in 2019. He lost consecutive title bouts to Kamaru Usman and, most recently, was handily beaten by rival Colby Covington in what proved to be a fairly one-sided affair.

Stephen Thompson, Shavkat Rakhmonov
Shavkat Rakhmonov

Stephen Thompson not interested in fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov next: "It doesn't make sense for me to face another heavy grappler"

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022

Stephen Thompson isn’t interested in fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov next. Thompson hasn’t fought since last December when he lost by decision to Belal Muhammad. It was his second straight defeat, and in both losses, he was out grappled and outwrestled.

  • 1
  • 2