Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson is one of the UFC 296 bouts that MMA fans think might win the Fight of the Night award on Saturday, December 16. Why? Because both fighters are great finishers.
“Nomad” is undefeated with a 100% finish rate, while “Wonderboy” is a former UFC Welterweight title contender who’s looking to make himself relevant again.
The Rakhmonov vs. Thompson is guaranteed to be a fun fight to watch, but who’s going to get his hand raised high in the air at the end? Let’s find out!
Before Betting on Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson
Shavkat Rakhmonov is 17-0 in his professional career with 8 wins by KO/TKO and 9 by submission. He’s been fighting in the UFC since 2020, winning the Performance of the Night bonus in two of his five fights. His most recent fight was crowned the Fight of the Night.
The bout in question was the one against Geoff Neal in March 2023, which “Nomad” won by submission in round 3. Now, he’s taking on Stephen Thompson, who’s not too different a fighter to Neal, but he does have more experience fighting at a top level.
“Wonderboy” is a former title contender whose fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship with Tyron Woodley in 2016 finished in a draw. In the rematch, however, Woodley beat him by majority decision.
Since then, he has won four fights, but also lost four. The good news for him is that only one of those was a loss inside the distance – Anthony Pettis beat him by KO.
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Actually, that’s Thompson’s only loss inside the distance in his entire professional MMA career, which started back in 2010.
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson Offshore Odds & Prediction
| Offshore Sportsbook | Shavkat Rakhmonov | Stephen Thompson |
|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | -675 | +500 |
| MyBookie | -650 | +450 |
| BetUS | -650 | +450 |
| SportsBetting.ag | -675 | +500 |
| XBet | -650 | +450 |
We think Shavkhat Rakhmonov will win this fight. However, we’re not sure if his finishing spree will continue. The thing is that Stephen Thompson is a smart guy who knows how to fight big fights. You can be 100% certain that he won’t make any risky moves, which is why we could see the fight go the distance.
Still, knowing that “Nomad” makes 4.45 significant strikes per minute, as well as 1.49 takedowns per 15 minutes, we think he’s going to do just enough to win the judges’ vote.
