UFC News Rumors: Dana White Confirms Stephen Thompson Won’t Get Paid for Show Despite Weight Gain

UFC president Dana White says Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will not be getting his purse despite adding weight to his fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291. Thompson refused to move on after Pereira missed the weight. 3 pounds

Thompson revealed after canceling his fight on July 29 that he was not compensated. But remains optimistic that things will be sorted between him and the promotion.

“I gained weight this morning. Because I have done every bout in my 11-year UFC career,” Thompson wrote in a statement published on his Instagram on July 28. “My opponent did not. This is not the first time that I There are opponents missing the weight and from the previous way of playing. Myself and my team felt that in the end It’s not wise for us to move forward with this fight.

“This is not a video game. And we’re both putting our health and careers at risk… A fighter who misses the weight will face the consequences of being too small. and is often allowed to fight with a significant competitive advantage. This seems to be happening. More and more these days, it is hoped that the decision not to move forward will make others discouraged by weight loss in the future I also hope to encourage fighters facing this situation to comply and not let this happen to them. I’m healthy and I’ll be back in the Octagon. [as soon as possible] But on an even field…”

White said this week that fighters are not entitled to the contract payments if they refuse to fight.

“The way it works is They don’t just get paid not to fight,” White told reporters at a press conference after Tuesday’s “Contender Series” fight. “It’s not how it works. man getting money We take care of the guy, hey listen, if you come in and you make short money, we take care of you.

“You come in and you don’t fight. First of all, you decide not to fight. That man weighed more than 3 kilos, whatever it was. You will get a fraction of his pocket money if you fight. But if you hinder You decide not to fight. We also offered him another fight.”

The colloquial “show” and “win” money does not reflect the nomenclature in UFC contracts. A fighter’s contract is split into two parts: a wallet and a bonus. The bag is received at the end of the battle and the bonus is guaranteed only after winning the battle. not making enough weight to collect money on delivery

“If you don’t turn around quickly We’ll try to figure out how much your camp costs,” White said. “We’ll refund you, you know, there are ways to make this work. Don’t just say ‘yes, this guy is three pounds overweight, I’m not going to fight, and no, I’m going to win’. Don’t fight again two weeks later. And pay me for the show.’ That’s not how it works.

“You don’t fight. You are not required to be paid in the contract. But we always take care of everyone. And we’re working on ‘Wonderboy’, everything is going on behind the scenes, and everything should be done by Saturday.”

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One could argue that Thompson did everything right. He practiced. He performed to the scales and weighed. Fighting overweight opponents is a gamble. An overweight opponent may gain a size advantage and a physical advantage by avoiding the harshness of the cutting weight.

More MMA news, rumors:

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• Heading back to MMA in 2024, Claressa Shields, the undisputed middleweight champion, has signed a multi-year deal with the Professional Fighters League, promoting the title. announce On Tuesday, the Shields are a perfect 14-0 in boxing but 1-1 in MMA. And I can’t wait to return to PFL SmartCage,” Shields told ESPN. I will be the first athlete to win a boxing and MMA title simultaneously. I’ve grown a lot since my first MMA fight and can’t wait to showcase my skills.”