One of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory will take place on Saturday in the main event of UFC 291 as former lightweight title challengers Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje meet with a potential title shot at stake. Their five-round battle tops the main UFC 291 fight card starig at 10 p.m. ET from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The No. 2-ranked Poirier and No. 3-ranked Gaethje have both come up short in two bids for the undisputed lightweight title, though Poirier once briefly held the interim belt. They faced each other in April 2018 in a classic that saw Poirier win by fourth-round stoppage.
Pereira missed weight by three pounds Friday morning, coming in at 174 pounds. The non-title welterweight limit is 171 pounds. This is Pereira's second time missing weight in the division. He is a former middleweight.
The UFC said in a statement that the fight was canceled "due to Michel Pereira weighing in over the welterweight limit."
In a statement posted on his Instagram account, Thompson said he and his team decided it was "not smart to move forward with this fight." He cited a May 2018 fight he took despite his opponent, Darren Till, missing weight by 3.5 pounds; Till went on to win by unanimous decision.
In the co-feature, former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) takes on ex-middleweight champ Alex Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who is moving up from 185 pounds. Blachowicz was 205 on the nose; Pereira was 205.5.
Two fighters missed weight. Vinicius Salvador (14-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was 128.5 pounds for his flyweight bout against CJ Vergara (11-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and was fined 20 percent of his show purse. And Michel Pereira (28-11 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was 174 pounds for his welterweight bout against former title challenger Stephen Thompson (17-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC). If the matchup is approved at a catchweight, Pereira will be fined a percentage of his purse.
All fighters set to compete in the event stepped on the scale for the weigh-ins on Friday, but not everyone made weight. One of the fighters who had a scale fail was Michel Pereira. He could not fulfil his obligation, and weighed in three pounds above the welterweight limit for a non-title fight.
After Pereira's miss, UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik announced to media members that a decision on whether or not the bout would still go on hadn't been decided. Several hours later, the bombshell was dropped.
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