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

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.

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Dana White wasn’t overly pleased with the comments made by Thompson, and he was also surprised to hear him suggest that he’d get backpay after his bout with Rakhmonov. In a recent interview, the man himself dismissed the notion that the UFC is punishing him with a tough match-up at UFC 296.

Thompson dismisses punishment theory

“No, I don’t think so,” Thompson said. “I wanted Usman because Usman called me out, but the UFC already had something set up for him. I wanted somebody that was ranked above me. Most of the guys I’ve been facing have been ranked behind me – the Geoff Neals and the Vicente Luques, Pereira, which, you let these guys come up and they should be able to make weight. I wanted somebody ranked above me. It didn’t matter really who it was.

“The Usman fight didn’t happen, so there was Shavkat. He was supposed to fight (Kelvin) Gastelum, which I think Gastelum got cut so he didn’t have anybody. I saw him on social media. I know he’s ranked above me, and it just worked out for both of us. It was like a year-and-a-half ago maybe, the UFC wanted me to fight Shavkat, and to be honest with you, I didn’t even know who he was at the time.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

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