Dana White on Stephen Thompson saying he wasn't paid for UFC 291: 'Guys don't just get paid to not fight'
Dana White responds to controversy surrounding compensation (or lack there of) for Stephen Thompson making weight ahead of UFC 291.
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LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White says Stephen Thompson will receive some compensation for his UFC 291 weigh-in, though it may not be his show money.
Thompson made weight in Salt Lake City ahead of his scheduled July 29 bout, but opponent Michel Pereira missed the contracted weight limit by three pounds. Rather than accept a percentage of Pereira’s purse in lieu of the weight discrepancy, Thompson elected not to compete. Thompson later explained the decision was made after considering the health and competitive risks.
“How that works is that guys don’t just get paid to not fight,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters Tuesday following DWCS 57 at the UFC Apex. “That’s not how that works. Guys have been paid. We’ve taken care of guys. Listen, if you come in, and you’re making short money, we take care of you. If you come in and you don’t fight – first of all, you decided not to fight.
“The guy was three pounds overweight or whatever it was. You get a piece of his purse, if you take the fight. But if you decide you don’t want to take the fight, we also offered him another fight. There’s a much bigger story behind the scenes. No, you don’t just show up and say, ‘No, I’m not going to fight. I want a quarter of a million dollars.’ That’s not the way it works. It hasn’t worked that way for anybody.”
MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn reported as of the start of the UFC 291 event, Thompson had not been paid his show money despite weighing in, a fact Thompson confirmed in an interview a few days later with reporter Ariel Helwani. Thompson remained positive the UFC was “going to do right” and said the two parties were still in communication.
Tuesday, White confirmed discussions have been ongoing and said the UFC welterweight contender Thompson will receive some form of compensation, though it may just be to break even after training camp. White also said the promotion offered a quick rebooking to Thompson.
“So what we do is we try to get you another fight and turn you around quickly,” White said. ‘If you don’t turn around quickly, we try to figure out what it costs for your camp. We try to reimburse you. There’s a lot of different ways that this works out. You don’t just go, ‘Yeah, this guy is three pounds over. I’m not going to fight, and no, I won’t take another fight two weeks later, and pay me my show money.’ That’s not how this works.
“You don’t fight, you don’t get paid, necessarily, in the contract. But we always make sure that we take care of everybody. We’re working it out with ‘Wonderboy’ right now. It’s all being worked out behind the scenes and this should all be worked out by Saturday.”