Skip to main content

UFC 291 loses main card fight: Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira off

Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira is off Saturday’s UFC 291 card at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Before Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, UFC commentator Megan Olivi announced the bout was canceled. Hours prior, Pereira (28-11 MMA, 6-2 UFC) missed the welterweight limit by three pounds, as he tipped the scale at 174 pounds. This came minutes after Thompson (17-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) made weight at 170.5 pounds.

It is unclear if an agreement could not be reached due to the miss or if there was medical or commission intervention that ultimately caused the bout to be called off.

UFC 291 marks the second time Pereira has missed the welterweight limit in the UFC. He has not competed since May 2022. On the flip side, Thompson has never missed weight. He has not competed since December.

With the change, the UFC 291 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje – for “BMF” title
  • Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira
  • Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland

PRELIMINARY CARD (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Trevin Giles
  • Derrick Lewis vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
  • Roman Kopylov vs. Claudio Ribeiro
  • Darrius Flowers vs. Jake Matthews

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)

  • Vinicius Salvador vs. CJ Vergara
  • Uros Medic vs. Matthew Semelsberger
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Miranda Maverick

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.



from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/GxAIWHN
via IFTTT

Popular posts from this blog

Video: Oli Thompson lands devastating first-round knockout punch on Aleksei Oleinik in Russia

Aleksei Oleinik returned to action for the first time since his UFC exit, but things did not go in his favor. In the main event of REN TV Fight Club at Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow, Russia, Oleinik (60-17-1 MMA) faced fellow UFC veteran Oli Thompson in a heavyweight bout. The result was a violent finish that left Oleinik staring up at the lights. Thompson (21-16 MMA) unleashed a crushing right hand that sent Oleinik crashing to the canvas with 35 seconds remaining in the opening round. Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter ): Oli Thompson destroys Alexey Oleynik with a massive right hand in the first round pic.twitter.com/AdWy25dQxR — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023 Thompson, 43, returned to the win column for the first time since 2020, snapping a four-fight losing skid. His last victory was also a first-round stoppage; a 23-second knockout of Szymon Bajor at Fight Exclusive Night 28 on June 13, 2020. Oleinik, 45, competed in his final UFC bout in Octo...

UFC's Ilia Topuria no longer interested in Paddy Pimblett: 'As a fighter we all know he's not worth anything'

MIAMI – Ilia Topuria has lost interest in a potential fight against Paddy Pimblett . After several shots at each other in interviews and on social media, a scuffle in a hotel lobby , and a post-fight callout in the octagon, Topuria said he is done trying to get a fight against Pimblett. Now highly ranked and with his sights on the UFC featherweight title, Topuria believes he’s past Pimblett and fighting him would be taking a step back. “Paddy, you know what happens with Paddy?” Topuria said in Spanish at a media day this past Saturday . “He’s a person that media attention wise, he’s big. But as a fighter we all know he’s not worth anything. He’s not even ranked. He hasn’t done anything. “So giving merit to a person that’s only where he is because he knows how to sell himself well, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. We’re athletes. In the UFC, the difference between them and other organizations is that here what’s valued is the sport and Paddy, sporting wise, hasn’t achiev...

Logan Paul, KSI to fight (separately) as part of Misfits Boxing 'The Prime Card'

Logan Paul and KSI will top an upcoming Misfits Boxing card entitled “The Prime Card,” they announced Friday on social media . The event takes place Oct. 14 at AO Arena in Manchester, England and streams on DAZN pay-per-view. Opponents for the two influencers-turned-boxers have not yet been announced. It is unclear if the bouts will be professional or exhibition. Paul, 28, has not competed in a professional boxing match since he fought and lost to  KSI in November 2019. The bout was a rematch of an August 2018 amateur fight which ended in a draw. In June 2021, Paul competed in an exhibition bout against Floyd Mayweather and went all eight rounds in a non-scored bout. While he’s been relatively inactive in boxing, Paul has thrilled fans with his athleticism in intermittent appearances in pro wrestling bouts for WWE. KSI, 30, has competed four times since the pro bout against Paul. All four of those matches were exhibitions. KSI won three of them inside the distance, while a f...