According to UFC president Dana White, Stephen Thompson is set to receive a form of compensation for his UFC 291 weigh-in.
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According to UFC president Dana White, Stephen Thompson is set to receive a form of compensation for his UFC 291 weigh-in, although it might not align with his designated show payment.
In anticipation of his July 29 match, Thompson successfully reached the required weight in Salt Lake City. However, his opponent Michel Pereira failed to meet the agreed-upon weight limit by a margin of three pounds. Rather than agreeing to a portion of Pereira’s earnings as a resolution for the weight disparity, Thompson opted to withdraw from the bout. Thompson later clarified that this decision was grounded in his evaluation of the health and competitive risks involved.
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“How that works is that guys don’t just get paid to not fight,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters Tuesday following DWCS 57 at the UFC Apex. “That’s not how that works. Guys have been paid. We’ve taken care of guys. Listen, if you come in, and you’re making short money, we take care of you. If you come in and you don’t fight – first of all, you decided not to fight.
Even though Thompson successfully completed the weigh-in, he had not yet received his show payment. This detail was verified by Thompson himself during an interview a few days later with journalist Ariel Helwani. Despite the situation, Thompson maintained an optimistic outlook, expressing his belief that the UFC would rectify the matter. He also mentioned ongoing communication between the two parties.”
White verified that conversations had been continuing and acknowledged that discussions were taking place regarding compensation for UFC welterweight contender Thompson. While the exact form of compensation remains uncertain, it might be aimed at helping Thompson recuperate his training camp expenses. White also mentioned that the promotion promptly extended an offer to rebook a fight for Thompson.
“So what we do is we try to get you another fight and turn you around quickly,” White said. ‘If you don’t turn around quickly, we try to figure out what it costs for your camp. We try to reimburse you. There’s a lot of different ways that this works out. You don’t just go, ‘Yeah, this guy is 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 this 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. 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.”
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