Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson has taken a stand. In a decision that will disappoint many UFC fans, he has refused to fight Michel Pereira at UFC 291 after the latter missed weight, coming in at 174 lbs, 3 lbs over the 171 lbs welterweight limit. This is the second time the Brazilian has missed weight in the UFC. Thompson released a statement detailing his reasons for calling off the bout instead of facing Pereira. ‘Wonderboy‘ felt that fighters missing weight was becoming increasingly common in the UFC and worried they were getting away with it.

The American hoped other fighters would follow suit and refuse to fight opponents who missed weight. “Unfortunately my fight with Michel Pereira will no longer be going forward… Fighters who miss weight face far too few consequences and are often allowed to fight with a significant competitive advantage,” he wrote in a statement released on his Instagram account. The matchup between Thompson and Pereira was scheduled on the main card of UFC 291 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Meanwhile, another fighter has expressed his willingness to fight Thompson at UFC 291.

Stephen Thompson has a willing opponent for UFC 291

Irish fighter Ian Garry has thrown his hat in the ring to fight Stephen Thompson. The 14th-ranked welterweight took to Twitter to announce his willingness to fight Wonderboy and tagged UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby to make the fight happen.

‘The Future’ is an undefeated fighter who impressed the UFC community with his first-round win over Jordan Williams in his UFC debut. Again, in his last fight against Daniel Rodriguez back in May, he notched an impressive first-round win. A former Cage Warriors champion, he holds a professional record of 12-0 in MMA.

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Currently, ‘The Future’ is set to take on Geoff Neal in a welterweight bout at UFC 292 in Boston. This fight will be a huge step-up for Garry who is eager to test the deeper waters of the 170 lbs division. Meanwhile, the UFC has a heavyweight replacement for the lost ‘Wonderboy’ bout.

Derrick Lewis vs. De Lima to replace Thompson vs. Pereira at UFC 291

According to the UFC website, the Derrick Lewis vs. Marcos Rogerio De Lima heavyweight bout has been moved up from the preliminary card to the main card. It seems, therefore, that Wonderboy will not be fighting at UFC 291 at all.

Fans were eagerly looking forward to the contest between ‘Wonderboy’ and Pereira. The latter was on a five-fight win streak and ‘Wonderboy’ would have been looking to cement his place as a top contender in the welterweight division.

However, it seems they will have to wait to see ‘Wonderboy’ in action again. What do you think about Thompson’s decision to call off the fight against Pereira? Let us know in the comments.

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