Rakhmonov becomes 1st to submit Thompson in top contender bout

Shavkat Rakhmonov continued his run to the top of the welterweight division Saturday night, submitting former title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson with a rear-naked choke at UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The finish came with just four seconds left in Round 2.

Rakhmonov said in his postfight interview he wants to challenge for the 170-pound belt next.

It was a suffocating and grueling victory from start to finish. Rakhmonov tied Thompson up against the fence - but was unable to take him down - throughout most of the first round.

A minute into the second round, Rakhmonov clinched Thompson after both sides traded a few strikes. Rakhmonov finally secured his first takedown a minute later and nearly locked in a rear-naked choke. Thompson got out of the submission, but Rakhmonov remained on top and landed elbows and punches.

Rakhmonov took Thompson's back with 20 seconds left in the round, sunk in the rear-naked choke, and forced the tap from his opponent.

With the victory, Rakhmonov, 29, improved to 6-0 in the UFC since debuting in October 2020. The Uzbekistan-born Kazakh is one of the hottest fighters in the welterweight division and is ranked No. 5.

Thompson stepped into the cage for the first time this year. The 40-year-old was coming off a vintage TKO win over Kevin Holland in December 2022. Thompson is now 1-3 in his last four outings dating back to 2021.