Josh Thomson Reveals Shavkat Rakhmonov's Gym Could Be Planning Potentially Dangerous Gameplan Against 'Wonderboy': 'From What I Understand From Kill Cliff FC...'

When Stephen Thompson was initially matched-up with Shavkat Rakhmonov, many thought that this was a form of punishment from the UFC.

The controversy surrounding him turning down a fight with Michel Pereira after the Brazilian missed weight and not wanting to fight Ian Garry either, eventually led him to getting what he wanted.

An opponent ranked higher than him was his wish and the UFC certainly provided that in the form of the undefeated at 17-0, Shavkat Rakhmonov.

The Kazakh fighter has been the one a lot of people have had their eye on as a potential title contender, if not champion, in the welterweight division.

Given his high-level grappling, this could prove to be a nightmare match-up for "Wonderboy" but some analysts have been hearing something else.

Josh Thomson Says Rakhmonov Won't Come Into The Fight Grapple Heavy Because It's Not His Style

During the latest episode of the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson gave his take on this huge welterweight contest between two of the most exciting guys in the division.

"The Punk" spoke about the awkward and hard-to-train-for style of Thompson that often gives fellow strikers trouble once they're standing across from him.

It's no secret that grappling with "Wonderboy" is the best path to victory for his opponents and that makes Rakhmonov a sizeable favourite going into this fight.

Thomson warned fans who expect this to be a one-sided wrestling contest that he has heard something different from the team around the #5-ranked contender.

He said that Rakhmonov's coaches warned not to expect a focused grappling approach because it just isn't the style of fighting that he is known for.

"I look for him to take the fight to the ground but from what I understand from Kill Cliff FC is that don't expect him to shoot because it's just not what he does. He'll do it in transition but he's not out there just shooting double legs you know, he'll work his way. His kickboxing, get it into the clinch, a little bit of a hip toss, foot sweep, whatever it is, trip, he'll do but don't look for him to be down there like shooting far away to cover the gap and the double leg. It's not going to happen so I want to see how he handles that Stephen Thompson funkiness."