BREAKING: UFC 291 main card fight canceled
By Amy Kaplan
The pay-per-view bout between Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira has been canceled from UFC 291.
According to an official statement from the UFC, "Due to Michel Pereira weighing in over the welterweight limit, the bout against Stephen Thompson has been canceled from tomorrow’s event."
Pereira was the final fighter on the scales at Friday's official weigh-ins and tipped the scales at 174 pounds, three pounds over the 171-pound limit. There was hope that the fight could be held together, but negotiations failed and we're down to just 11 fights.
The whole card goes down tomorrow, July 29, from Salt Lake City, UT with a likely 15-30 minute delay in start time.
The rest of the card is in tact as of press time.
Full UFC 291 fight card and weigh-in results
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
Dustin Poirier (155) vs. Justin Gaethje (156)
Jan Blachowicz (205) vs. Alex Pereira (205.5)
Stephen Thompson (170.5) vs. Michel Pereira (174)
Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Bobby Green (155.5)
Michael Chiesa (170) vs. Kevin Holland (169.5)
Preliminary Card (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Gabriel Bonfim (170) vs. Trevin Giles (170)
Derrick Lewis (263.5) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (262)
Roman Kopylov (185) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (185.5)
Jake Matthews (170) vs. Darrius Flowers (170.5)
Early Prelims (ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET) - Start time subject to change
CJ Vergara (125.5) vs. Vinicius Salvador (128.5)**
Matthew Semelsberger (169.5) vs. Uros Medic (170.5)
Miranda Maverick (125.5) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (125)