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This matchup just seems like a really cruel way to treat Stephen Thompson. The veteran has been with the organization for a long time and this feels like sending an old lamb to the slaughter by pairing him up with Shavkat Rakhmonov.

At his best, Thompson was a tricky karate practitioner whose herky-jerky movements and non-traditional style would give top tier fighters fits. It lead to a frustrating pair of fights with Tyron Woodley that nearly saw him capture UFC gold.

But he's 40 now and those quick counter-triggers don't quite fire like they used to. He's 4-5 across his last nine fights.

Meanwhile, Rakhmonov is a runaway freight train of a fighter. He's plowing through fighters in the welterweight division. He's 17-0 and he continues to step up in competition, earning submission wins over Geoff Neal and Neil Magny.

In Thompson's prime he might have been able to pick off Rakhmonov with a sniper-accurate head kick.

As it stands, Thompson could have a hard time managing the distance and Rakhmonov should have his way en route to a decisive TKO victory.

Prediction: Rakhmonov via third-round TKO

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