UFC 291 main card Thompson vs. Pereira bout cancelled

The UFC 291 main card on pay-per-view received a last-minute shake-up on Friday when the featured bout between Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Michael Pereira was nixed. 

Thompson and Pereira were slated to meet in a welterweight bout, which was one of the featured fights on the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 291 fight card. That was before Pereira missed weight.

A former middleweight, who has missed the welterweight mark in the past, Pereira weighed 174 pounds at Friday’s official UFC 291 weigh-in. That is three pounds above the allowed limit for the weight class. Thompson stepped on the scale within the 171-pound limit, weighing 170.5 pounds. 

Why did Stephen Thompson not accept the Michael Pereira fight and a penalty payment?

Often times, such a miss is met with the other fighter accepting the bout anyway and receiving a percentage of his opponent’s show money, typically 20-30 percent. But 

Thompson has been around the game for a long time.  He and his team felt it wasn’t prudent to accept the risk of an overweight Pereira just to be assured of a little extra money.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had an opponent miss weight and given how that played out previously, myself and my team felt that it’s ultimately not smart for us to move forward with this fight,” Thompson wrote on Instagram.

Thompson was referring to his bout with Darren Till in 2018. Also a former middleweight, Till had trouble making weight on multiple occasions, including the fight with Thompson, where he weighed 174.5 pounds.

Though he forfeited 30-percent of his fight purse, Till ended up winning a decision over Thompson in their main event bout at a UFC Fight Night event in Liverpool, England.

Currently sitting at No. 7 in the UFC welterweight rankings, Thompson has been for years and currently still is relevant when it comes to talk about the welterweight title. He doesn’t want to lose that position by fighting someone who has the advantage of size, particularly when that advantage is unwarranted.

“At my age and given what I’ve accomplished in this sport, I’m not here to be a gatekeeper. I’m here to fight for and win a UFC Welterweight Title.” the 40-year-old fighter wrote.

“This isn’t a video game 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 same exact scenario played out back then.”

Is there a lack of consequences for UFC fighters that miss weight?

Thompson conveyed that he feels far too many fighters miss weight because there are few repercussions for doing so. Sure, they lose a percentage of their fight purse, but a victory carries the promise of much better paydays in the future.

If UFC officials and regulatory bodies aren’t going to get more strict with the fighters, it’s pretty much in the hands of fighters they consistently make weight to do something about. And they can.

Fighters are well within their rights to do what Thompson did, not take the fight. Of course, that means losing the opportunity for a payday and the chance to make a move in the division. It’s not the most desired option for a fighter, but it is an option that is available.

Thompson is fortunate enough to be in a position where he could choose that option. He hopes that it is something that has an effect, and that more fighters follow suit.

“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,” he said in his post.

“Hopefully the decision to not move forward with the fight will discourage others from missing weight in the future. I also hope to encourage fighters that face this situation to follow suit and not allow this to happen to them.”

Who is on the updated UFC 291 fight card on pay-per-view?

Thompson vs. Pereira was to have been the fight featured in the middle of the five-fight UFC 291 pay-per-view portion of the fight card. That’s a coveted position right before the co-main event between Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira takes place.

With the subtraction of Thompson vs. Pereira, UFC officials moved swiftly. Perhaps they saw reason to reward heavyweight Derrick Lewis, who many say looked as good as he ever has when he stepped on the scale at the UFC 291 official weigh-in.

Lewis currently is ranked No. 10 in the UFC heavyweight rankings. His opponent, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, sits at No. 15. Their bout could have a significant impact on the division, so it was moved from the UFC 291 preliminary card, which airs on ABC, ESPN+, and ESPN, to the UFC 291 main card in place of Thompson vs. Pereira, which streams exclusively on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View.

The shift, of course, had a trickle down effect on the remaining bouts. Check out the revised UFC 291 fight card here.

Was Derrick Lewis in his best condition ever at UFC 291 weigh-in?