Stephen Thomson: UFC has 'settled everything' from cancelled fight at UFC 291

06/11/2023 17:00

Stephen Thompson has revealed he's been compensated following his cancelled fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291.

After Pereira missed weight for the welterweight tilt in July, Thompson opted to not take the fight, and thus, wasn't paid for making weight himself. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour following the bout's cancellation, "Wonderboy" said that talks had been going on between his management and the promotion.

Now, ahead of his UFC 296 bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov, Thompson says things have been taken care of, and he's happy with the result.

"That was all wild and crazy," Thompson told MMA Fighting. "Me and the UFC, and my management, we've settled everything. So everything's great.

"We settled with something we were both happy with, and that was it."

Details of the financials were not revealed.

The 40-year-old was confident everything would end up going smoothly, and understood why it didn't happen immediately with the UFC's incredibly busy schedule. In the end, the two-time welterweight title challenger is thrilled with how things turned out — not just from a bank account perspective, but getting a big opportunity for a pivotal divisional contest and a loaded pay-per-view card to cap off the year.

"It took a little bit because they have a business and a lot of stuff going on — and so have I," Thompson said. "So my managers have been taking care of everything. But, yeah man, I was happy with everything, with what the UFC has done for me, and we got away from this last fight with a smile on our faces.

"Not only that, but then [I got] a fight, obviously, against a top opponent, someone ranked above me, and on one of the most stacked cards of the year — the last card of the year."

Since July, Thompson says life has been pretty hectic wondering where things would end up; would he fight a surging contender ranked behind him? Would he get a matchup with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman?

While he didn't get the Usman fight, Thompson feels that matchup with Rakhmonov could help him take a big step towards one last world title shot.

"It has been pretty crazy with a lot of things that could've happened but didn't, — with the fight with Michel [getting scrapped], and the possibility of fighting Kamaru Usman has been exciting," Thompson said. "The UFC, or at least Kamaru Usman had different plans, so I was kind of left with nobody, and then they offered me Shavkat.

"Not only is he ranked above me, he's one of the scariest dudes in the UFC right now, especially in the welterweight division — undefeated, 100 percent finish rate, super strong, super tough. Now is the time, I think, to prove myself."