UFC welterweight Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has a warning for any and all future comers: make weight or miss out.
This comes hot on the heels of “Wonderboy” pulling out of a scheduled bout against Michel Pereira at UFC 291 when Pereira stepped on the scale a full three pounds over the welterweight limit. Thompson made his case on The MMA Hour.
Stephen Thompson Has A Warning For Future UFC Opponents
“When he didn’t [make weight], it was Darren Till all over again. [I’m] giving this guy who’s ranked No. 15 the opportunity to come up and fight me, which guys have done in the past for me
. The Johny Hendricks’ [fight], the Rory MacDonald’s, the Jake Ellenberger’s, I wasn’t even ranked, these guys gave me that opportunity.
I’ve been doing that with a lot of guys, Vicente Luque, Geoff Neal, all these guys. Even Michel Pereira, who’s [ranked] 15, giving these guys an opportunity to come up.
But I feel like it’s almost a slap in the face whenever they don’t make weight. When you sign that contract, you’re giving your word, a man’s word, which nowadays it doesn’t mean a whole lot to some people but to me it is.
It’s your word that you’re going to do what’s on this contract to be able to make this fight happen and that’s make weight. It’s one thing.
Just make weight.” Thompson learned from a catchweight bout against Darren Till how much difference a hard cut makes.
“Everybody knows what happened with Till — I told myself then after that fight, I will never do this again. I will never let this happen again.
[Darren Till] was just a big body. I could feel it out there. It does make a difference.
When you’re depleting yourself and you’re already lean and you go into fight camp and you have to cut 11 to 12 pounds more of water weight and you’re struggling.
You feel like death. Your voice changes. Your eyes are sinking into the back of your head. Your head hurts. You’re going through cramps.
You step on that scale and you’re still 174 and you still have to get down there. That’s how I feel whenever I step on the scale.”
Thompson is putting the division on notice.“I want everybody to know right now in the 170 division, that if you’re going to fight me now you better be on weight or it’s not going to happen.
I’m at a place in my career what I want to fight fairly. I don’t want to play any games.”
