John McCarthy explains why he sides with Dana White in Stephen Thompson pay dispute

John McCarthy is explaining why he’s siding with Dana White in the Stephen Thompson pay dispute.

It was at UFC 291, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (17-6 MMA) was set to take on Michel ‘Demolidor’ Pereira (28-11 MMA) in a welterweight bout. Pereira ultimately missed weight by three pounds so their match-up never took place. According to Dana White, the UFC offered Thompson another fight but he declined.

Following the cancelled fight, ‘Wonderboy’ has gone on a tirade about not being compensated by the UFC, feeling he should be granted ‘show’ money.

The fighter is not alone, as other current and former fighters also believe Thompson should be compensated for the battle he prepared for at UFC 291.

UFC President, Dana White, spoke to reporters at the Contender Series Season 7, concerning compensation for Thompson:

“How that works is that guys don’t just get paid to not fight. That’s not how that works. Guys have been paid. We’ve taken care of guys. Listen, if you come in, and you’re making short money, we take care of you. If you come in and you don’t fight – first of all, you decided not to fight.”

Continuing, Dana White said:

“The guy was three pounds overweight or whatever it was. You get a piece of his purse, if you take the fight. But if you decide you don’t want to take the fight, we also offered him another fight. There’s a much bigger story behind the scenes. No, you don’t just show up and say, ‘No, I’m not going to fight. I want a quarter of a million dollars.’ That’s not the way it works. It hasn’t worked that way for anybody.”

Apparently, speaking on a recent episode of ‘Weighing In’, Bellator commentator, John McCarthy, is siding with White:

“Everyone will always say that I put Dana down and that I put the UFC down – I agree with Dana White on this. You can’t have someone like ‘Wonderboy’ in the position he is and the amount of money he’s making. ‘Cause you’re talking high six figures is his pay, it’s good, and to sit there and have him – ‘cause he was offered that fight against Michel with the three pounds and he decided, ‘I’m not gonna take it.’ Okay, then that’s his option. I have nothing against ‘Wonderboy’ for not doing it. He was offered a second fight, he said no, he wasn’t gonna take it.”

Continuing, John McCarthy said (h/t MMANews):

“And so for someone to expect that he’s gonna get his show money, that just doesn’t work. Just ‘cause you made weight – and yes, he made weight – but when you make as much money as him, I believe any promotion should help pay that fighter’s training camp. The money that you could say he spent during that time getting ready for the fight, help meet the cost of what it took for him to get prepared for that. But when we’re talking about getting the show money, you’re usually talking about fighters that make somewhere in the area of 30-30, 40-40, because that’s about what it’ll cost for your camp.”

Where do you stand? Do you think Stephen Thompson should be paid by Dana White and the UFC for showing up?

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