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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.



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