“Gotta show honor and integrity” – Stephen Thompson appreciates fan support for his choice to not fight opponents who miss weight
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson took a strong stance in his last scheduled fight against Michel Pereira after the latter showed up overweight to the weigh-ins.
Pereira weighed in at 174 pounds, 3 pounds over the non-title welterweight limit. Thompson refused to take on an overweight opponent and risk his health as he looks to make a run for the title.
Stephen Thompson received strong support from the fans for his position and ahead of his UFC 296 fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov, he appreciated all those who backed him.
'Wonderboy' also critcized the increasing frequency of UFC fighters missing weight:
“I thought it was awesome, I mean there was a lot of that going on, with people not making weight. And I feel like it was becoming a thing, like people were doing it on purpose to get an advantage over their opponent. Unless you’ve cut the weight, you won’t know what it actually feels like to really suffer through that. And if your opponent doesn’t do it with you, there’s a difference. There’s a big difference. So it was cool to have the fans and everybody behind me with that. I think more guys should do that. Gotta show honor and integrity and do it.”
Stephen Thompson discusses his fight against "heavy hitter" Shavkat Rakhmonov, says he wants another title run
Stephen Thompson hasn't been in a title fight since 2017 but he wants to put an end to that with a strong result against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Thompson praised Rakhmonov as a top striker and finisher and expressed his desire to prove himself and launch another title run:
"So, when I got the call to fight somebody who’s in the top five, I thought it was great. And who better to prove myself and show the UFC and the world that I am ready for the title shot, another title run, than against Shavkat Rakhmonov? So, now’s the time to do it. Against a heavy hitter and I think the guy’s like a hundred percent finish rate... So, I know he’s going to come out there and do work, he’s not gonna go out there and just try to hold me down. He’s going to try to finish you and those are the kind of fights that I wanna test myself against."
Check out his full comments [4:20 and 10:20]: