UFC website reveals matchup likely to replace canceled Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira bout on UFC 291 main card

It seems the UFC has a plan to replace the scrapped Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira bout at UFC 291 this weekend.

It was recently announced that the highly-anticipated welterweight showdown between Thompson and Pereira had been removed from the card after the Brazilian failed to make weight. While the non-title welterweight limit is 171 lbs, Pereira came in at 174 lbs. This is the second time the Brazilian has missed weight as a welterweight.

Soon after, Stephen Thompson announced that he would not be going ahead with the fight at catchweight, and the bout was subsequently pulled from the UFC 291 event. However, it seems that the UFC has chosen a heavyweight matchup to replace the scrapped welterweight bout.

MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter recently pointed out that the official UFC website shows the Derrick Lewis vs. Rogerio De Lima heavyweight bout being brought up from the preliminary card to the main card, replacing the Thompson vs. Pereira. Replying to a comment asking which fight replaces the canceled bout, he tweeted:

"UFC.com has it as Lewis vs. De Lima."

Stephen Thompson was coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Kevin Holland last December. Meanwhile, Michel Pereira was looking to extend his five-fight winning streak.

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UFC 291: Stephen Thompson on not accepting catchweight bout against Michel Pereira

Stephen Thompson recently issued a statement explaining his decision not to proceed with the Michel Pereira fight at UFC 291 after the Brazilian failed to make weight.

At the recent weigh-ins, 'Wonderboy' successfully made weight at 170.5 pounds for his welterweight bout. However, his opponent came in three pounds over the limit at 174. While it was speculated that the UFC would try to make the fight happen and try to negotiate a deal between both parties, the promotion announced that the bout was canceled just a few minutes before ceremonial weigh-ins.

Soon after the UFC 291 ceremonial weigh-ins, Stephen Thompson issued a statement explaining why he chose not to fight Michel Pereira. Taking to Instagram, 'Wonderboy' wrote:

"Unfortunately my fight with Michel Pereira will no longer be going forward. First off, I’m sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to my fight... Fighters who miss weight face far too few consequences and are often allowed to fight with a significant competitive advantage."

He continued:

"This appears to be happening more and more these days. Hopefully, the decision to not move forward with the fight will discourage others from missing weight in the future. I also hope to encourage fighters that face this situation to follow suit and not allow this to happen to them."