Wonderboy/Pereira is off pic.twitter.com/5Oy1p3KTz3
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman)
July 28, 2023
The scale has taken a big bite out of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s pay-per-view
show on Saturday.
At the
UFC 291 weigh-ins on Friday, Michel
Pereira stepped on the scales for his welterweight matchup
against Stephen
Thompson (170.5) heavy. Missing by three pounds, the promotion
and the fighter teams entered into prolonged negotiations. Whether
due to medical issues, Thompson’s camp declining the contest or a
failed agreement regarding fines and purses, the fight has been
canceled. UFC commentator Megan Olivi broke the news shortly before
the ceremonial weigh-in show on Friday night. Per UFC.com, the
heavyweight slobberknocker between Derrick
Lewis and Marcos
Rogerio de Lima has been bumped up to the main card.
The marks the second time that the Brazilian has missed weight
since joining the league in 2019. He first came in a pound over the
welterweight cap in 2019 against future featherweight Tristan
Connelly, and ended up losing a decision and his portion of the
“Fight of the Night” check along with receiving a fine of his fight
purse. Now three pounds above the non-title maximum of 171 pounds,
this fight will no longer take place. It is unclear whether Pereira
will be required to shift up to middleweight, or if the promotion
is planning on remaking this matchup on a future show.
The 40-year-old Thompson was aiming to make his first appearance of
the year at UFC 291. He last competed in the main event of UFC on
ESPN 42, where he forced Kevin
Holland’s corner to wave off the fight at the end of Round 4.
That victory snapped a two-fight decision streak to Belal
Muhammad and Gilbert
Burns. Prior to the Burns defeat, Thompson had rattled off a
pair of bonus-winning performances against Vicente
Luque and Geoff Neal in
2019 and 2020, respectively. UFC 291 will carry on with 11 matches
at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.