Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman are ready to make a comeback. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dana White were recently caught on camera discussing a potential fight for Rakhamonov. The Kazakh star was recently seen sparring with former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman after a viral call-out in the division.
The video showed Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman inside the octagon. They had sparring gloves on and were going back and forth with each other. It was rumored that the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ would make his comeback against Rakhmonov or Stephen Thompson. Now with the latest video of the two sparring together, it is unlikely that Usman will face his sparring partner in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the undefeated Kazakh has other plans in the division. Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad will headline the upcoming UFC 304 as the main event. The welterweight division will witness an exciting rematch that has been simmering for years since its last controversial ending. Adding to the excitement, Rakhmonov went on X declaring he was ready to take on the winner of the two.
Rakhmonov’s last fight was in December last year at UFC 296. He had made his debut in the promotion in 2020. Since then, he has secured six consecutive UFC wins under his belt. Now, that leaves Usman with just another option.
Will Kamaru Usman fight Stephen Thompson next for his return?
Stephen Thompson has not been on a great run since 2021. He has won once in his last four fights. However, that has not stopped Usman from eyeing him as a potential opponent. The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ himself has been on a dry spell lately.
Kamaru Usman vs Stephen Thompson (Image via Imago)
Usman had been undefeated since his debut all the way until year 2022. At UFC 278, Usman faced his first loss at the hands of Leon Edwards, losing his long-held welterweight title at the same time. Ever since then, he has tried to retrieve his spot at the top of the welterweight division. However, a fight against Thompson has been on top of his mind for a while now.
Behind the scenes footage of UFC matchmaking in the welterweight division.
The UFC wanted to book Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Kamaru Usman in Abu Dhabi but Ali Abdelaziz told Dana White that Kamaru wanted to fight Stephen Thompson.#UFC #MMA
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 8, 2024
In a previous interview with TMZ last year, Usman had mentioned a fight with Thompson to make the most sense for him in the division. Meanwhile, manager Ali Abdelaziz recently mentioned on the UFC docuseries that Usman has been eyeing Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and wants to fight him next. While nothing has been made official up till now, it will be interesting to see the state of the welterweight division in the upcoming months with new exciting matchups on the line.
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