Stephen Thompson sheds light on being slightly annoyed with Shavkat Rakhmonov following loss: "Very few things frustrate me" 

Nine months after facing Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 296, Stephen Thompson is still annoyed by the way the loss has aged. While Thompson is not upset by the way he lost, he is instead peeved with how Rakhmonov and his team have reacted to their win since then.

In a recent interview with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, 'Wonderboy' admitted that he was "a little" irritated by Rakhmonov claiming his game plan was to strike with Thompson after the fight. The 41-year-old said:

"After [I fought] Gilbert Burns, his coach was like: 'Sorry the fight was boring, but that's the only way to beat you.' And he said the same thing after Shavkat... But it is [annoying]. Especially after the fight saying that you were going to strike with me, like nah, dude. It got me a little bit. Very few things frustrate me, but that got me a little bit."

Check out Stephen Thompson's comments below:

Rakhmonov wound up winning the fight by submission in the final seconds of the second round, becoming the first fighter to submit Thompson. Per UFC Stats, 'Nomad' accrued 7:45 control time of the 10 total minutes of the fight despite landing just one official takedown.

---

What did Shavkat Rakhmonov say that upset Stephen Thompson?

After the fight, Shavkat Rakhmonov revealed to Laura Sanko backstage that he suffered a "severe" ankle injury just weeks before UFC 296. While few doubted the legitimacy of the injury, Rakhmonov's claim that it forced him to change his game plan is what Stephen Thompson took issue with.

Translated to English from Kazakh, Rakhmonov said:

"I had a very serious injury and I was close to pulling out of the fight but I decided to risk it all. That's why I didn't kick with my leg and just used my knees but thank God I got the victory."

Check out Shavkat Rakhmonov's comments below:

Per UFC Stats, Rakhmonov managed to land just five significant strikes from distance against Thompson.

Since the fight, the 29-year-old Kazakh has publicly campaigned to be the next challenger of Belal Muhammad and the UFC welterweight title with the support of most fans. While he waits for his next fight, Thompson is booked against Joaquin Buckley at UFC 307.