5 potential opponents for Shavkat Rakhmonov following his victory last weekend

Shavkat Rakhmonov is one of the UFC's fastest-rising stars, so who should he face next?

This past weekend’s UFC Fight Night show saw a number of impressive performances, but perhaps the best came from welterweight prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov, who knocked out Carlston Harris in the opening round.

Rakhmonov undoubtedly has a lot of hype around him following his victory this weekend, so who should he face off with next?

Given his burgeoning reputation, unbeaten MMA record of 15-0 and flashy style, it’s likely that ‘Nomad’ will have no shortage of potential suitors out there.

ANOTHER ONE. 15-0.

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So with the native of Kazakhstan looking to break into the elite level at welterweight soon, it’s likely that the UFC will offer him a big fight next.

With that in mind, here are three potential opponents for Rakhmonov following his victory last weekend.

#5. Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson

Stephen Thompson still has one of the trickiest striking games in the UFC

It might be a hugely dangerous fight for a prospect like Shavkat Rakhmonov, but a win over former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson would definitely push ‘Nomad’ into title contention.

One of the greatest strikers in UFC history, Thompson holds wins over fighters such as Johny Hendricks, Vicente Luque, Jorge Masvidal and Geoff Neal. He has been a staple of the promotion for a decade now.

His karate-based striking style has proven to be an impossible puzzle for many fighters to solve. Despite the fact that he turns 39 years old this week, he’s still in phenomenal shape from a physical standpoint.

It’s FIGHT WEEK! 👊🏼 🥋 The preparation is done….ready to rock n roll! Thank you to my team Pitch Black MMA and everyone that helped me prepare! I couldn’t have done it with out y’all! #WeReady #UFCVegas45 #ItsGoTime @chrisweidman https://t.co/TwEmKEL268

Sure, ‘Wonderboy’ has struggled in his last two bouts, falling to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns. However, those fighters are largely grappling-based, unlike Rakhmonov, who seems to rely a lot more on his striking.

If ‘Nomad’ could find a way to outstrike Thompson, then the hype around him would immediately go off the charts. However, it is worth noting that Rakhmonov also has seven finishes by submission on his record, meaning that if he needed to, he could perhaps look to stifle ‘Wonderboy’ with his grappling too.

Essentially, there’d be no shame in a prospect like Rakhmonov losing to someone as good as Thompson, meaning this would be a low-risk, high-reward fight for him.