{"id":300074,"date":"2023-12-15T21:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=300074"},"modified":"2023-12-15T21:00:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:00:17","slug":"excl-shavkat-on-going-from-loading-trucks-to-starring-at-ufc-296","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/mma\/excl-shavkat-on-going-from-loading-trucks-to-starring-at-ufc-296\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCL: Shavkat on going from loading trucks to starring at UFC 296"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span>EXCLUSIVE<\/span> Shavkat Rakhmonov admits it is &#8216;hard to believe&#8217; he has risen from loading trucks in Kazakhstan to starring at UFC 296, as unbeaten welterweight relishes clash with Stephen &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; Thompson<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Shavkat Rakhmonov has won all 17 of his professional fights with finishes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>He is the emerging force at welterweight, taking on Stephen Thompson\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Paddy &#8216;The Baddy&#8217; Pimblett MUST seize his moment in the UFC 296 limelight after seeing his career stutter &#8211; The Hook\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a fighter to win their first 17 professional contests is incredibly rare &#8211; for every one of those victories to be finishes is almost unheard of.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But that is where Shavkat Rakhmonov finds himself heading into his 18th battle, this time against Stephen &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; Thompson at UFC 296.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The winner will have their name in the frame to challenge either Leon Edwards or Colby Covington, depending on the T-Mobile headliner&#8217;s outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For Rakhmonov this is a &#8216;pinch-me&#8217; moment. Featuring on the biggest card of the year with the eyes of Las Vegas and the world on him is a far cry from the struggles of his youth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;At the time working in poorly paid jobs in a warehouse and loading trucks, you know, it&#8217;s hard to believe that I could reach this level,&#8217; he exclusively told Mail Sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/02\/78943045-12862047-image-a-29_1702519741668.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Shavkat Rakhmonov (left) seen here choking Geoff Neal is in action again at UFC 296<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/17\/78943129-12862047-Shavkat_pictured_as_a_teenager-a-64_1702574521731.jpg\" height=\"562\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/17\/78943043-12862047-The_Kazakh_has_come_a_long_way_from_humble_beginnings-a-65_1702574521973.jpg\" height=\"562\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Shavkat has come a long way from humble beginnings in Kazakhastan (left)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/02\/78943177-12862047-image-a-39_1702520401595.jpg\" height=\"461\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The welterweight says he comes from a long line of warriors back at home\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;But I believed in God and that my hard work would get me there. Times like that definitely help make you tough and help you understand that nothing comes easy.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The 29-year-old comes from a fighting lineage. His family were originally from a nomadic tribe in Uzbekistan &#8211; though Kazakh-born &#8211; and he&#8217;s previously spoken about his older brothers forcing him into tear ups with other children his age, which predictably he enjoyed immensely.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even from the age of six, he was lacing up small gloves and scrapping and his sister\u00a0Shora is also an MMA fighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fighting is deep within his blood and he can now enjoy representing his people on the grandest stages.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You know, coming where I am from, being successful just brings other people joy &#8211; seeing one of them get to the level I am at makes them all happy,&#8217; he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I don&#8217;t want to say they treat me like a hero but I feel the recognition from my people and the respect that comes with it.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Shavkat was born to a Kazakh family in Uzbekistan and they relocated to Kazakhstan when he was a teenager where he took up combat sambo. It led him to competing in amateur MMA where he won the amateur Asian Championships and set him on a path to stardom.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the cage, Rakhmonov is a joy to behold. He is technically brilliant in all areas but combines his proficiency with a raw aggression that might be ill advised but makes for a great spectacle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is he as free and instinctive in his mind as he seems in the octagon?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I feel the pressure when I fight but mostly the pressure to get the result done and everything right,&#8217; he admits of the weight on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/02\/78943049-12862047-image-a-31_1702519769271.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Shavkat has finished all 17 of his professional MMA contest and is a top contender<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/02\/78943035-12862047-image-a-41_1702520490935.jpg\" height=\"440\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Stephen &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; Thompson (left) is Shavkat&#8217;s opponent on Saturday night<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I am 17-0 with 17 finishes I think because I am well-rounded in all parts of MMA and I don&#8217;t care where the fight goes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;If I am standing and striking or fighting on the ground, it doesn&#8217;t matter to me, I think that&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve been successful.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday he faces a puzzle many have failed to solve in &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217;, an incredibly tricky kickboxer who has seen it all over more than a decade in the UFC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I have been following &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; since I was a young man watching the UFC&#8217;, Rakhmomov continued. &#8216;Him still being at this top level after so long shows what a good fighter he is and I respect him a lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I don&#8217;t know what we can expect in our bout but a fight is a fight and the octagon will show everything on Saturday night. I am ready for anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I am already close to the title but right now I just have focus on fighting &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; and not think about what will happen afterwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Obviously after this one, I will either fight for the title or have to face one more opponent and then get a title shot, either way I am ready for it.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/14\/02\/78943037-12862047-image-a-40_1702520482937.jpg\" height=\"431\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 29-year-old has seemed almost unbeatable at times on his run to No 5<\/p>\n<p>And if pushed, Rakhmonvov believes it will be the Brit retaining his belt this weekend rather than a Donald Trump-inspired Covington. &#8216;In the main event, both Leon Edwards and Colby Covington are great fighters but I think the champion has the advantage here,&#8217; he predicts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rakhmonov has the makings of a champion both on paper and in the flesh. His ferocity and finishing have seen him rise to No 5 in the welterweight rankings, one ahead of Thompson.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Every contender has to prove themselves by overcoming different challenges en route to the belt, and &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; is just that.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are few with the bouncy, precise striking in his locker and if Rakhmonov can riddle his way through it, whoever is welterweight champion by Sunday morning will see him looming on the horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2023\/10\/25\/The%20Hook_Promo_Desktop.636.png\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/mma\/article-12862047\/Shavkat-Rakhmonov-admits-hard-believe-risen-loading-trucks-Kazakhstan-starring-UFC-296-unbeaten-welterweight-relishes-clash-Stephen-Wonderboy-Thompson.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EXCLUSIVE Shavkat Rakhmonov admits it is &#8216;hard to believe&#8217; he has risen from loading trucks in Kazakhstan to starring at UFC 296, as unbeaten welterweight relishes clash with Stephen &#8216;Wonderboy&#8217; Thompson Shavkat Rakhmonov has won all 17 of his professional fights with finishes He is the emerging force at welterweight, taking on Stephen Thompson\u00a0 Paddy&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>EXCL: Shavkat on going from loading trucks to starring at UFC 296 - Tell My Sport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/mma\/excl-shavkat-on-going-from-loading-trucks-to-starring-at-ufc-296\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EXCL: Shavkat on going from loading trucks to starring at UFC 296 - Tell My Sport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EXCLUSIVE Shavkat Rakhmonov admits it is &#8216;hard to believe&#8217; 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