Media Stephen Thompson admits he will be "disappointed" if the UFC does not pay him for UFC 291

[IDGETKTFO]

I wouldn't expect him to be paid his full show money, but he should get reimbursed for the cost of the training camp. Not some crazy amount, but there should be a average calculated cost figured out.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

Just pay the guy, he's done his share in helping the company through 10 years with the UFC. He's genuine, nice guy. A billionaire company that won't pay what he deserves. He showed up, cut weight and was ready to fight. Give him his 6 figures.

 

[markg171]

Man I remember when Woodley let kelvin keep his 30% even though kelvin missed by 9-10lbs.

Remember when Tyron also weighed in on weight even after Hendricks had been medically pulled and their fight was off? Rather than rebook this Dana eventually gave him a title shot 9 months later for this despite only being on an unimpressive 2 fight win streak of only DHK and Kelvin.

In the meantime Dana books Wonderboy against Hendricks and WB KOs him in the 1st and gets shafted for the title shot despite being on 6 fight win streak that also included Ellenberger, Cote, and Whittaker. He instead gets to fight Rory. Who he also beats and now finally gets to be #1 contender.

We got robbed of Wonderboy/Lawler because of this bullshit and instead got Woodley/Wonderboy 1&2 which were some of the worst title fights ever.

 

[Blastbeat]

We got robbed of Wonderboy/Lawler because of this bullshit

please stop reminding me of these things. what a fight that wouldve been.

 

[markg171]

The positive in a way about same day weigh ins is for the fighters that due manage to cut a massive amount it's REALLY going to effect their performance.

I do know hydration like tests can be cheated but sadly I have no clues on a work around.

And hell even regaining 10 lbs is a big change. You have fighters putting on 20+ post cut. It's ludicrous.

The wrestling days I had morning of weigh ins vs night before weigh ins were night and day in terms of performance. The difference in cardio and strength is massive getting that night to rehydrate and eat compared to only a couple hours. Hell, there were 2 other guys on my team in the same weight class as me that I'd normally bully with ease because I was much more muscular than them that all of the sudden I was going 50/50 with as my tank would just be gone so quickly if I didn't pin them quick.

And I was only cutting 22lbs at my highest.

I mean, anybody with a bath tub at home could right now just go take a 1-1.5hr bath that's as hot as they can stand if they want to experience even a fraction of what it's like to cut weight. Do that and you'll lose 5-7lbs. You'll also probably nearly pass out getting out of the tub. Or actually will if you've never tried this. You'll need to lay down for sure and do nothing for awhile as you'll be weak, exhausted, and sweating for the next couple of hours and you don't get to chug a Gatorade to fix it.

Congrats. Now do it 2-3 more times until you're on weight.

 

[FriskyRandy]

Again, he did show up. His contract was to fight Michel Pereira at 170 lbs. Peireira, and by extent the UFC, failed to live up to their end of the contract.

If you don't want to pay show money, contract fighters that can make the weight or adjust your weight cutting rules.

You're contradicting yourself.

You just said "his contract is to fight at Peireira at 170 pounds"

He did not fight. That contract was not fulfilled. That not being his fault is irrelevant. He would never win in court, hence why he hasn't and doesn't need to be paid a dime.

 

[Nathan LaMontagne]

The wrestling days I had morning of weigh ins vs night before weigh ins were night and day in terms of performance. The difference in cardio and strength is massive getting that night to rehydrate and eat compared to only a couple hours. Hell, there were 2 other guys on my team in the same weight class as me that I'd normally bully with ease because I was much more muscular than them that all of the sudden I was going 50/50 with as my tank would just be gone so quickly if I didn't pin them quick.

And I was only cutting 22lbs at my highest.

I mean, anybody with a bath tub at home could right now just go take a 1-1.5hr bath that's as hot as they can stand if they want to experience even a fraction of what it's like to cut weight. Do that and you'll lose 5-7lbs. You'll also probably nearly pass out getting out of the tub. Or actually will if you've never tried this. You'll need to lay down for sure and do nothing for awhile as you'll be weak, exhausted, and sweating for the next couple of hours and you don't get to chug a Gatorade to fix it.

Congrats. Now do it 2-3 more times until you're on weight.

Cutting weight is fucking awful.

Almost my entire career I actively avoided it.

I did it on a very small percentage of occasions. My Instructor told me to cut weight for a really big Judo tournament (Olympic qualification points big)
Long story short, I felt like shit, cardio sucked and I felt weak.

I didn't cut weight more as a silly bravado thing. Granted it was the mid 2000s to early tens, so the weight cuts weren't as big as modern day.

I mean I fought at 185 when I weighed in at i think i was 176
When the cut is that small, I realistically should have.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

Reading some of these responses is so disheartening. The future looks bleak. The amount of people and the lengths they will go to in order to defend their masters... How has it come down to this? Just sad...

Say you're a construction worker and you show up to work, boss says hey sorry the elevator is down you gotta use the stairs. If you say no thanks I'll come back when the elevator is working. Should you get paid for showing up?

 

[eddymotto]

WME is a talent agency and if anybody tried to pull this bullshit with one of their clients they would go to war.

 

[kellier]

The fight wasn't cancelled though. Thompson pulled out because he refused to fight Pereira.

Wildly different than your opponent suddenly being struck by a car something.

That's not correct whatsoever.

The original fight contract was cancelled through frustration when Pereira failed to make weight and therefore the commission could not sanction a welterweight fight.

Thompson refused to negotiate a new contract for a new fight at catchweight.

He fulfilled his original contractual obligations, so if he wasn't paid his show money he'd have grounds for a suit. He'll be compensated to some extent

 

[Red Dragoniop]

Just pay the guy, he's done his share in helping the company through 10 years with the UFC. He's genuine, nice guy. A billionaire company that won't pay what he deserves. He showed up, cut weight and was ready to fight. Give him his 6 figures.

Facts

 

[Sweater of AV]

We got robbed of Wonderboy/Lawler because of this bullshit and instead got Woodley/Wonderboy 1&2 which were some of the worst title fights ever.

Lol. The first fight was great you muppet. The second wasn't as good but it was far from the worst.

Honest question. Do you wake up in the morning and tell yourself you want to be the biggest can possible for the entire day?

 

[markg171]

That's not correct whatsoever.

The original fight contract was cancelled through frustration when Pereira failed to make weight and therefore the commission could not sanction a welterweight fight.

Thompson refused to negotiate a new contract for a new fight at catchweight.

He fulfilled his original contractual obligations, so if he wasn't paid his show money he'd have grounds for a suit. He'll be compensated to some extent

You do realize saying Thompson's contract was cancelled and he never signed a new contract is worse, right? That puts him in a spot with no contract at all.

It's also not even correct seeing as the commission couldn't take 20-30% of an overweight fighter's purse and give it to their opponent when fights continue if they've in fact got a bout agreement for a catchweight fight. They wouldn't be overweight then. The original bout agreement is still what goes forward which is precisely why the overweight fighter gets fined.

It's again all totally completely irrelevant as they're paid for their bouts themselves. Not for showing up for anything pre-bout. What they weigh is irrelevant, it's whether or not they actually fight. Thompson never fought so if he gets paid anything it's the UFC's own charity.

 

[Luthien]

let’s tack on another day for welching.

Sorry, a bit depressed this week.

 

[markg171]

Lol. The first fight was great you muppet. The second wasn't as good but it was far from the worst.

Honest question. Do you wake up in the morning and tell yourself you want to be the biggest can possible for the entire day?

In what way was the first fight great? Because Woodley would do nothing and then finally explode and land a hail mary?

The fights weren't great. Wonderboy was too scared of the TD threat meanwhile Woodley too scared of getting picked apart. Then by the rematch Wonderboy was now also scared of the KD threat meanwhile Woodley was even more waiting on landing a gamechanging big one.

You might just be the first person to ever argue otherwise and it's unsurprising as if anybody looks to wake up and make the worst takes ever every day it's consistently you.

 

[Sweater of AV]

In what way was the first fight great? Because Woodley would do nothing and then finally explode and land a hail mary?

The fights weren't great. Wonderboy was too scared of the TD threat meanwhile Woodley too scared of getting picked apart. Then by the rematch Wonderboy was now also scared of the KD threat meanwhile Woodley was even more waiting on landing a gamechanging big one.

I knew you were basically a five year old with a keyboard. Stick to the McRunner threads. That's your universe.

You might just be the first person to ever argue otherwise and it's unsurprising as if anybody looks to wake up and make the worst takes ever every day it's consistently you.

Your hero Dana White awarded it Fight of the Night, dumbass.



You're truly an idiot. Keep spending your life staring at Wikipedia and trying to be the biggest can on a Karate Forum.

Spoiler

 

[markg171]

I knew you were basically a five year old with a keyboard. Stick to the McRunner threads. That's your universe.



Your hero Dana White awarded it Fight of the Night, dumbass.



You're truly an idiot. Keep spending your life staring at Wikipedia and trying to be the biggest can on a Karate Forum.

Spoiler

Okay there Fedro

 

[Sweater of AV]

Okay there Fedro

Concession accepted.

You are a can. Don't ever forget it.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

That's not correct whatsoever.

The original fight contract was cancelled through frustration when Pereira failed to make weight and therefore the commission could not sanction a welterweight fight.

Thompson refused to negotiate a new contract for a new fight at catchweight.

He fulfilled his original contractual obligations, so if he wasn't paid his show money he'd have grounds for a suit. He'll be compensated to some extent

Do you have a copy of his contract? It could very well state "show" is paid for stepping into the cage.

They way he is talking with saying he "hopes the UFC does the right thing" rather than "my contract says" makes me think you're wrong

 

[kellier]

You do realize saying Thompson's contract was cancelled and he never signed a new contract is worse, right? That puts him in a spot with no contract at all.

It's also not even correct seeing as the commission couldn't take 20-30% of an overweight fighter's purse and give it to their opponent when fights continue if they've in fact got a bout agreement for a catchweight fight. They wouldn't be overweight then. The original bout agreement is still what goes forward which is precisely why the overweight fighter gets fined.

It's again all totally completely irrelevant as they're paid for their bouts themselves. Not for showing up for anything pre-bout. What they weigh is irrelevant, it's whether or not they actually fight. Thompson never fought so if he gets paid anything it's the UFC's own charity.

Not at all. If a contract is cancelled due to frustration by another party, then the injured party is open to claim for damages for the income lost due to the breach. That's pretty basic.

The contracted fight was for WW. Once the WW fight doesn't happen, it requires a new bout agreement. I don't know the governance of the purse fine, but it looks to be a contractual condition of the new bout. 20% is the norm but as you've alluded to, some fighters negotiate 30%. Depends how badly the offending fighter wants the fight to stay on the card I guess.

Since its pretty common, I would expect there to be some contractual conditions or contingencies around it. Commission holds it in trust in the short term, since fighter A can't rely on fighter B sending him a cheque after the fight as promised