UFC 296 was an event that will be remembered for many things: the brawl between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, Leon Edwards’ victory, Josh Emmett’s knockout, and more. After the final event of 2023 ended with a bang, fight fans witnessed a significant shift in rankings. Speaking of shifts, Shavkat Rakhmonov entered the top 3, while Colby Covington dropped in the rankings after a substantial loss.
Before UFC 296, Rakhmonov and Covington held the 5th and 3rd rankings, respectively. After the event, they exchanged spots, with Rakhmonov now at 3rd. On the other hand, despite Covington’s trash-talking, he failed to secure the win and dropped in the rankings and now he is at no.5.
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Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson
Rakhmonov via Round 2 SubmissionA dull fight for as long as it lasted, but Shavkat had it under control, dictating the fight how he wanted to. Eventually he got Thompson down in the second and became the first person to submit Wonderboy pic.twitter.com/zVrrZ7NPEM
— PantojaGOAT (@Pantoja_GOAT) December 18, 2023
The Kazakh fighter now appears unstoppable with his 6th straight UFC win and 18th MMA victory. He has finished everyone he fought in an MMA fight with 8 KOs and 10 submissions. Rakhmonov is currently one of the most dominant fighter in the world. With his win against Stephen Thompson in round 2, where he submitted Wonderboy, he rose to the No. 3 ranking.
Colby Covington calls tonight's main event an easy fight 👀 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/sjsaO10MDP
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
Meanwhile, Covington, on the other hand, has lost 3 out of his last 5 fights, once against Leon Edwards and twice against Kamaru Usman. All these recent losses drop him down two rankings. Indeed, Shavkat now appears to be one of the solid contenders for the title, while Covington’s future will be interesting to see.
What’s Next For Shavkat Rakhmonov?
As mentioned earlier, Rakhmonov is on a solid 18-fight win streak. Now, talking about his future, it seems he has a couple of solid fight options– one the Belal Muhammad bout. Since Leon Edwards has mentioned he doesn’t want to fight Muhammad right now, this matchup is perfect to decide the new title challenger.
#UFC Welterweight Championship Look-Ahead Odds
Leon Edwards -400
Belal Muhammad +300Leon Edwards -110
Shavkat Rakhmonov -110 pic.twitter.com/kmS1xxSmjC— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) December 17, 2023
Apart from that, it is quite unlikely but not a bad option if Shavkat Rakhmonov gets a direct title shot. Speaking of Edwards, who is the betting favorite against Muhammad, it’s looks like an even matchup against the undefeated phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov, with -110 for both. Meanwhile, it’s all up to the UFC how they see Rakhmonov.
