In the lead-up to UFC 291, the anticipated clash between Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira was awaited by fans. However, there was an unexpected twist on the day of weigh-in day as the scales tipped unfavorably for Pereira.
The Brazilian missed weight by a margin of three pounds, causing problems with the bout’s preparation. What ensued was a fascinating chain of events that shed light on the inner workings of the UFC.
After Pereira missed weight, Thompson decided to withdraw from the bout after some deliberation.
Because Stephen Thompson had previously faced opponents who had missed weight and things hadn’t gone well for him, he believed Pereira had an edge by refusing to lose weight to 170 pounds. After Thompson refused the matchup, it was discovered that the UFC had not paid him despite his making weight and weighing in.
Stephen Thompson has now said that he still expects to be paid by the UFC. However, White now claims that there is a very legitimate reason he wasn’t compensated.
While talking about Thompson, Dana White stated that opting out of a match due to a weight discrepancy did not automatically guarantee full payment.
He said: “You decided not to fight, the guy was three pounds overweight, you get a piece of his purse if you take the fight… We also offered him another fight, there’s a much bigger story behind the scenes.”
“No, you don’t just show up and say ‘yeah, I’m not going to fight, I want a quarter of a million dollars’, that’s not how it works, hasn’t worked that way for anybody. So, what we do is why try to get you another fight, try to turn you around quickly. If you don’t turn around quickly, then we try to figure out what did it cost for your camp? We’ll reimburse you, there’s a lot of different ways that this gets worked out.”
White went on to say: “You don’t just go ‘yeah this guy’s three pounds over, I’m not going to fight and no, I won’t take another fight two weeks later and pay me my show money’ that’s not how it works.”
“You don’t fight, you don’t get paid necessarily in the contract. But we always make sure that we take care of everybody and we’re working it out with Wonderboy right now. It’s all being worked out behind the scenes and this should all be worked out by Saturday.”
As the situation evolved, uncertainties emerged regarding the potential alternative opponent offered to Stephen Thompson. But it’s very obvious that Thompson and White disagree on the situation.
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