Stephen Thompson explains decision to not go forward with UFC 291 clash against Michel Pereira: "They face far too few consequences"

Stephen Thompson's scheduled fight against Michel Pereira at UFC 291 was scrapped from the main card at the very last minute.

Pereira missed weight by three pounds at the weigh-ins by coming in at 174 pounds. The UFC then announced that the fight was off. Thompson clarified in a statement published on his social media that he and his team took the decision to not move forward with the fight.

Thompson emphasized the importance of making weight and stated that his primary goal was to win the welterweight championship.

"I made weight this morning as I have done every fight during my 11 + year UFC career. My opponent did not. This isn't the first time I've had an opponent miss weight and given how that played out previously, myself and my team felt that it's ultimately not smart for us to move forward with this fight. At my age and given what I've accomplished in this sport, I'm not here to be a gatekeeper, I'm here to fight for and win a UFC Welterweight Title."

Stephen Thompson also called out fighters for not facing consequences for missing weight while referencing his loss against an overweight Darren Till in 2018.

"If I don't finish my opponent, I risk losing a decision, even if it's a split decision as what happened when I fought Darren Till and almost the same exact scenario played out back then. Fighters who miss weight face far too few consequences and are often allowed to fight with a significant competitive advantage. This appears to be happening more and more these days. Hopefully the decision to not move forward with the fight will discourage others from missing weight in the future."

Check out his statement below:

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Stephen Thompson backs Leon Edwards against Colby Covington in potential title match

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is expected to take on Colby Covington for his second title defense.

Stephen Thompson weighed in on a potential fight between the two, and backed Edwards. 'Wonderboy' cited Edwards' size advantage against Covington and also praised his significantly improved cardio.

"Oh, I got Leon winning. I mean, you saw what Usman did to Colby the last two fights... Leon is fairly a big welterweight, a lot bigger than Colby. Colby is known for his cardio, but Leon showed in his last two fights that he’s got the cardio with the best of them, and he’s got the grappling to defend the takedown."

The two may fight for the welterweight title on the same card as the heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at UFC 295.

Check out Stephen Thompson's comments below (17:13):