Shavkat Rakhmonov extended his undefeated record to 18-0 tonight at UFC 296 with a 2nd round submission finish of Stephen Thompson.
Round One:
Calf kick for Thompson. Rakhmonov gradually closing distance here and then gets into the clinch against the cage.
Knees to the thigh for Rakhmonov. Thompson doing a good job of preventing Rakhmonov from working the takedown for now. Rakhmonov commits to an attempt but is foiled for the time being.
Uppercuts being exchanged here now in close. Rakhmonov still pressing him into the cage. Rakhmonov has Thompson hoisted up for a moment, but then he gets his feet back on the mat. Rakhmonov grabs a leg and tries to disrupt his balance. Thompson still not going down though.
Knee strike for Rakhmonov. 60 seconds of the round remaining. Finally Thompson manages to find space and quickly moves away from the clinch.
Thompson steps in and lands a body kick. He lands another. Now a quick one-two. Right hand lands for Rakhmonov. jab for Thompson.
Round Two:
Side kick to the body for Thompson. Now a quick flurry of punches from him and Rakhmonov tries to counter. Jab for Thompson as he’s moving backwards. Now a side kick to the body.
Rakhmonov has a hold of a leg now and works for a takedown. They spin around, but Thompson keeps upright. Rakhmonov moves him over to the cage now.
Knees to the inner thigh from Rakhmonov. He grabs a leg and hoists it high, which does finally bring Thompson to the mat and still more than half the round remaining.
Thompson with his back against the cage as he looks for a way to stand. Rakhmonov traps an arm behind his back though and lands some punches to the head and body.
Rakhmonov getting around to the back enough to start working for a rear-naked choke. It looks tight, but somehow Thompson hangs in there long enough to turn into him and break free from the choke.
Rakhmonov in half-guard now and dropping down solid elbows. Punches landing too now. More light elbows and punches. Thompson gets to his knees and turtles up. Rakhmonov right onto his back and tries to sink in the rear-naked choke. It’s hard to see if he’s got it in tight from this angle, but sure enough with only 4 seconds of the 2nd round remaining Thompson taps out!
