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Marc Raimondi, ESPN Staff Writer
SALT LAKE CITY — An anticipated welterweight fight between Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Michel Pereira has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC 291 card, the promotion announced Friday.
Pereira missed weight by three pounds Friday morning, coming in at 174 pounds. The non-title welterweight limit is 171 pounds. This is Pereira’s second time missing weight in the division. He is a former middleweight.
The UFC said in a statement that the fight was canceled “due to Michel Pereira weighing in over the welterweight limit.”
In a statement posted on his Instagram account, Thompson said he and his team decided it was “not smart to move forward with this fight.” He cited a May 2018 fight he took despite his opponent, Darren Till, missing weight by 3.5 pounds; Till went on to win by unanimous decision.
“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,” Thompson wrote in his post. “This isn’t a videogame 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.
“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. 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.”
Thompson (17-6-1), a 40-year-old fan favorite, is coming off a fourth-round TKO of Kevin Holland last December. Pereira (28-11, 2 NC), a 29-year-old Brazilian fighter, is on a five-fight winning streak.