Stephen Thompson might have showed up for UFC 291, but his money didn’t.
‘Wonderboy’ did his duty last Friday, making weight for his welterweight matchup against Michel Pereira. But, unfortunately his opponent Pereira wouldn’t do the same, missing weight at 174lbs.
Having a history with opponents who missed weight (Darren Till), Thompson declined to fight the over-the-limit Pereira on Saturday. Despite him making the weight, ‘Wonderboy’ was not given his show money by the UFC.
Thompson On Not Getting Paid
The former title challenger remains optimistic that the UFC will fix their mistake.
“At this point, my management is talking with the UFC, nothing yet,” Thompson said on The MMA Hour. “I know Dana White’s on vacation, the guy’s a workaholic so well deserved. But I feel like the UFC is gonna do right by me.
“I’ve done everything that I’m supposed to do and I’ve tried to be as honorable as possible when it comes to signing my contracts and abiding by it, and doing what the UFC has said and I’ve done what they wanted of me. I feel that they’re gonna do right by me. So, things are still in talks. I think they’re waiting for Dana White to come back from his vacation and we’ll go from there. But at this point, nothing [in terms of compensation].”
More On The Matter
Wonderboy continued.
“I’ll be disappointed,” Thompson said, when asked if the UFC doesn’t end up paying him. “Who wouldn’t be, right? When you show up and you’re on point, you have done nothing wrong and your opponent has… it would just really stink if that was the case. But, me being the positive guy that I am, I feel like they’re gonna do right by me. That’s why I’m still smiling, still smiling right now. So, gotta keep on keeping on.”
‘A Slap In The Face’
While Thompson is considered one of the nicest fighters in the sport, he has no love for his opponent Michel Pereira not making their contract weight.
“I feel like it’s almost like a slap in the face whenever they don’t make weight,” Thompson said of Pereira. “When you sign that contract, you’re giving your word, a man’s word, which a lot of people nowadays don’t, it doesn’t mean a whole lot to some people. But to me it is. It’s your word that you’re gonna do what’s on this contract to me, but you’ve been able to make this fight happen and that’s make weight. You got this one thing, just make weight.
“I feel like this is happening way too much for fighters to fighters that these guys aren’t, I don’t know what needs to be done, but I think there should be more and greater consequences for these guys who are coming in with, with no integrity and no honor to make weight. I just told myself then at the, after the Darren Till fight, I’m not gonna do this again.”
Will the UFC end up paying Wonderboy for UFC 291? Or will the long-time UFC veteran walk away with empty pockets?
