‘Wonderboy’ Confident UFC Will Pay UFC 291 Show Money Despite Turning Down Fight

"I think the deal is, when I fight Shavkat, they're going to add on what they owed me for the last fight."@WonderboyMMA explains how the Shavkat Rahkmonov matchup came about and what a win does for him. #UFC296

Full convo w/ @chrisweidman 🔗 https://t.co/beImfQJIXw pic.twitter.com/E9BqEJXcZr

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) September 25, 2023

Stephen Thompson was slated to fight Michel Pereira at UFC 291 back in July. However, the match fell through a day before the event as the Brazilian missed the welterweight limit by three pounds. Thompson refused to take the bout at catchweight after weighing in at 170.5.

However, Thompson (17-6) didn’t receive his show money despite having made weight. “Wonderboy” has since remained upbeat that the Ultimate Fighting Championship will do good by him and continues to do so.

Regardless, Thompson believes the perceived debt will be paid along with the payout for his upcoming clash against Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) at UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

“I do believe that they’re going to -- I think the deal is, when I fight Shavkat, they’re going to add on what they owed me for the last fight,” Thompson recently told brother-in-law Chris Weidman on SiriusXM’s “Won’t Back Down” program.

When Weidman joked about the UFC “bribing” Thompson to fight the undefeated Kazakh, “Wonderboy” briefly laughed before explaining how the matchup came to fruition.

While Thompson wanted to fight Kamaru Usman (20-3), the promotion had other plans for the former champ. The other name on offer was surging Irish prospect Ian Garry (13-0) but Thompson decided against the proposal. The 40-year-old also believes the winner of his bout against Rakhmonov will have a legitimate claim to the next title shot at welterweight.