“Fighters will discourage from missing weight,” Stephen Thompson issues statement after withdrawing from much-anticipated UFC 291 card

Stephen Thompson issued a public statement after his Welterweight fight with Michael Pereira got scrapped.

“Fighters will discourage from missing weight,” Stephen Thompson issues statement after withdrawing from much-anticipated UFC 291 card

Stephen Thompson and Michael Pereira (Image Courtesy: MMA Junkie)

The anticipated welterweight fight between Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira has been taken out from Saturday’s UFC 291 card, the promotion announced the news just before the final weigh-ins. 

Pereira, who weighed 174 pounds Friday morning, was three pounds overweight. 171 pounds is the non-title welterweight limit. Pereira has missed weight twice in this division. He was once a middleweight. Stephen Thompson was highly disappointed at the situation and took to Instagram to share his thoughts after he withdrew from the fight.

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He wrote: “I made weight this morning as I have done every fight during my 11+ year UFC career. My opponent did not,” Thompson wrote. “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.”

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Thompson mentioned that he’s not fighting as a gatekeeper in the division and wants to fight for the title. ‘Wonderboy’ raised questions about the fighters who don’t face many consequences after failing to make the weight at UFC events.

Related: “They’re dangerous guys”- Michael Pereira and Kevin Holland are Stephen Thompson’s pick for his next fight

Michael Pereira gets trolled by former UFC title challenger Derek Brunson for missing weight against Stephen Thompson

Derek Brunson

Fight fans are quite intrigued about the welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Michael Pereira however, the cancellation of the fight was not something anybody wanted before UFC 291.

After the news about Pereira missing the weight went viral on the internet, Derek Brunson took the opportunity to troll the Brazilian. Brunson made a tweet in which he hilariously asked Pereira where in Las Vegas he can find a good buffet. 

“Michel Pereira where can I find a good buffet in Vegas ? Asking for a friend !? ???.” 

It was Michel Pereira’s second  UFC bout where he failed to make weight. Back in 2019, he missed weight by two pounds and was unable to compete against Tristan Connelly at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje. Nevertheless, the battle went forward as planned and Pereira was forced to give up 30% of his winnings. But this time Thompson just didn’t want to take any chance and decided to drop the idea of the fight. 

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