Stephen Thompson is one of the most entertaining fighters in UFC history. He had a fight booked at UFC 291 against Michel Pereira. However, the contest was called off due to the Brazilian missing weight by three pounds. As a result of this, there has been a lot of talk about Thompson getting paid.
Is It Fair When A Fighter Misses Weight?
Missing weight is often seen in MMA today. If the amount of weight a fighter is over is manageable, the fight usually goes ahead with the person coming in heavy, giving up a percentage of their paycheck to the opponent.
However, Thompson said that if a fighter misses weight, it is unfair to their opponent when speaking to MMA Fighting.
“I’m at a place in my career where I want to fight fairly. I don’t want to play any games.”
What Is Next For Stephen Thompson ?
When looking at what could be next for the former welterweight title contender, it is hard to see who he could fight next; potential options include fighters like Ian Gary, Jack Della Maddalena, or Kamra Usman. We probably won’t be seeing Thompson and Pereira squaring off anytime soon. When Thompson could return to the octagon, UFC 295 could be a reasonable target.
“Madison Square Garden is my plan.” Thompson said, “I don’t care who I fight, just not Michel Pereira. He doesn’t deserve it. I gave you the shot.”
What Did The Boss Have To Say About It?
The controversy had people wondering whether Thompson would get his pay for the fight; however, UFC president Dana White doesn’t seem too keen on giving the fighter his payday. White talked at a Contender Series press conference.
“No, you don’t just show up and say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to fight. I want a quarter of a million dollars,’ not how it works, and it hasn’t worked that way for anybody.” White elaborated by saying,
“So what we do is we try to turn you around quickly; if you don’t turn around quickly, then we try and figure out what it costs for your camp, and we’ll reimburse you; there’s a lot of different ways that this gets worked out.”
White confirmed that the UFC was trying to work something out with Thompson, “We’re working it out with Wonderboy right now.”
When Stephen Thompson returns to action, who should it be against? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
