According to Mike Bohn, UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson was not paid his show money despite making weight for his scheduled fight against Michel Pereira at UFC 291.
Fighters in the UFC are supposed to be paid two separate fees when they fight; one for making weight and one for if they win. The report from Bohn suggests that Thompson wasn’t paid his ‘make weight’ money.
What Happened Between Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira
The pair were scheduled to face each other in the third fight of the main card, in Salt Lake City Utah. If you are not fighting for a title, you are allowed to be one pound over your weight category’s weight limit which is 170lbs for welterweight fights. However, despite this extra leeway, Pereira missed weight by three pounds; officially weighing in at 174lbs.
In many cases when a fighter misses weight, the bout still happens but the person who was over the weight limit will be fined “20-30% of their fight purse,” according to Sportskeeda. ‘Wonderboy’ was in this exact situation five years ago when he fought, and lost to, Darren Till, in Liverpool, after the scouser failed to hit the 171lbs limit.
Wonderboy’s Response
The fan-favourite took to Instagram to tell his followers that the fight was off and how he was feeling.
“First off, I’m sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to my fight. I’m gutted for my coaches, my family and all the people who helped me throughout camp to be ready and prepared to go to battle. I made weight this morning, as I have done every fight during my 11+ year UFC career. My opponent did not.”
He said that, considering the previous experiences he’s had with opponents missing weight, he and his team felt that going ahead with the fight wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. He even directly referenced the close loss to Till.
“When I step into the Octagon, no one is in there but me and my opponent. This isn’t a videogame and both of us are putting our health and our careers on the line. If I don’t finish my opponent, I risk losing a decision, even if it’s a split decision as what happened when I fought Darren Till and almost the exact same scenario played out back then.”
What Should Happen to Fighters Who Miss Weight?
When fighters miss weight, whether they win, lose or don’t fight at all, there’s always talk around how heavy the punishment should be. Wonderboy thinks that more needs to be done to deter fighters from missing weight.
“Fighters who miss weight face far too few consequences and are often allowed to fight with a significant competitive advantage. This appears to be happening more and more these days. Hopefully the decision to not move forward with this fight will discourage others from missing weight in the future.” He also said that he hopes more fighters will take his course of action in these types of situations.
Thompson is still hopeful about claiming his first UFC title and he wants to get the chance to show more of his brilliance inside a cage very soon.
“I’m healthy and will look to get back in the Octagon ASAP BUT on a level playing field as I continue to pursue my quest of winning the UFC Welterweight title.”
What do you think should happen when a fighter misses weight? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
