Stephen Thompson to get paid double for UFC 296 fight vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

It appears as though there will be an added incentive for Stephen Thompson when he competes against surging welterweight contender Shavkat Rahkmonov at UFC 296.

During his appearance on Chris Weidman's Sirius XM show Won't Back Down, 'Wonderboy' revealed that he will receive an increase in pay when he fights 'Nomad'.

He mentioned the reasoning behind that is his recent scheduled bout with Michel Pereira being cancelled following the Brazilian missing weight:

"I think the deal is, when I fight Shavkat, they're [UFC] going to add on what they owed me for the last fight...I don't think they're bribing me." [h/t MMA Mania]

Stephen Thompson also shared his thoughts on fighting the unbeaten welterweight contender, who has won all his fights via stoppage. He mentioned that he is willing to fight 'Nomad' because it can be worth the risk in terms of his title aspirations, saying:

"I'll fight Shavkat. Let's do it. Let's make it happen. I believe [if] I go out there and I beat this guy - he should be fighting for the title after this fight with Leon [Edwards] and Colby [Covington]. I think Shavkat's got it [if he wins]. So if I beat this guy [Shavkat Rahkmonov], I'm looking at another title shot again." [h/t MMA Mania]

It will be interesting to see whether Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson can hand Shavkat Rahkmonov his first career loss as that would definitely strengthen his argument for a welterweight title shot.

UFC 296 bout announcement

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Who else was Stephen Thompson open to fighting?

Stephen Thompson is looking to make the most of his impressive TKO win over Kevin Holland this past December, which saw him snap his two-fight losing skid.

Following his canceled bout with Michel Pereira, 'Wonderboy' set his sights on a bout against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

While speaking to Chris Weidman on his Won't Back Down show, the 40-year-old noted that he was interested in fighting 'The Nigerian Nightmare', but the UFC decided to go in a different direction:

"[Kamaru] Usman called me out and I wanted that fight, but the UFC kept coming back and saying, 'No, Usman's not gonna fight you, he's gonna fight somebody else'." [h/t MMA Mania]

It remains uncertain who Kamaru Usman will be fighting, but 'Wonderboy' has his fight officially booked for UFC 296 on December 16th.