Stephen Thompson failed to defeat Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296 and might also have received a foot injury after kicking the opponent at the wrong place.
The two met in the cage over a week ago, with Rakhmonov winning the bout via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 4:56 mark of Round 2. The loss, however, is not the only thing that Thompson sustained in the fight. As the American shared in his recent YouTube content, he made the wrong move of kicking the opponent in the elbow.
“I actually came out of the fight pretty much unscathed, other than the fact that I think I broke my foot with a good body kick right to the elbow,” Thompson said. “Another thing, don’t kick your opponent in the elbow, because that sucks.
“So I apparently have a broken foot, but I’m itching to get back into the gym and start working out again.”
This is the opposite of what happened to Rakhmonov, who shared that he encountered an ankle injury weeks prior to his fight. According to the Kazakh, he was still enduring the effects of the issue even when he faced Thompson at UFC 296. Yet, “Nomad” still came out the victor of the bout. Thompson admitted that his loss was the result of his own doing.
“I also appreciate all your support for the fight this past Saturday,” Thompson said. “Obviously, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go. That’s why you should always follow the plan. I didn’t follow the plan, so it’s my fault.
“Love you guys and I’ll be back stronger, better than ever. I’ve got some things I’ve got to work on. Get this foot healed up, and we’ll get after it again.”
This loss prevented Thompson from extending his last win over Kevin Holland in December 2022. Despite this, he remains in a fair spot in the UFC ranking as a Top 6 fighter. Also, “Wonderboy” recently got a callout from Colby Covington, although he remains mum on whether he would accept it.
