Michel Pereira failed to make weight for the biggest fight of his career.
At Friday’s official weigh-ins for UFC 291, Pereira tipped the scales at 174 pounds, three pounds over the limit for a non-title welterweight bout. Opponent Stephen Thompson successfully made weight at 170.5 pounds.
This is the second time that Pereira has missed weight for a UFC bout. He came in one pound heavy for a fight against Tristan Connelly at UFC Vancouver in September 2019 and went on to lose a unanimous decision.
Pereira entered fight week having won five straight, the longest active win streak in the UFC’s welterweight division. Saturday’s contest is his stiffest test yet as Thompson is currently No. 9 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. It is not yet known if their bout will proceed at a catchweight and if so, what percentage of Pereira’s purse will be forfeited as penalty.
Headliners Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje successfully made weight for their rematch, coming in at 155 and 156 pounds, respectively. Poirier defeated Gaethje by fourth-round TKO in an instant classic back in April 2018. The winner of Saturday’s main event will be crowned the UFC’s second-ever “BMF” champion.
One other fighter missed weight, preliminary competitor Vinicius Salvador. The Brazilian flyweight came in at 128.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the limit for his bout with CJ Vergara. Salvador forfeits 20 percent of his purse as penalty and the bout proceeds at a catchweight.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Alex Pereira successfully made weight for his UFC light heavyweight debut, coming in at 205.5 pounds. Opponent Jan Blachowicz hit 205 pounds on the dot.
UFC 291 takes place Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Check out official weigh-in results below.
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)
Dustin Poirier (155) vs. Justin Gaethje (156)
Jan Blachowicz (205) vs. Alex Pereira (205.5)
Stephen Thompson (170.5) vs. Michel Pereira (174)*
Tony Ferguson (155) vs. Bobby Green (155.5)
Michael Chiesa (170) vs. Kevin Holland (169.5)
Preliminary Card (ABC/ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)
Gabriel Bonfim (170) vs. Trevin Giles (170)
Derrick Lewis (263.5) vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (262)
Roman Kopylov (185) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (185.5)
Jake Matthews (170) vs. Darrius Flowers (170.5)
Early Prelims (ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET)
CJ Vergara (125.5) vs. Vinicius Salvador (128.5)**
Matthew Semelsberger (169.5) vs. Uros Medic (170.5)
Miranda Maverick (125.5) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (125)
*missed weight
**Salvador missed weight by 2.5 pounds. His bout with CJ Vergara will proceed as a catchweight with Salvador forfeiting 20 percent of his purse as penalty