‘I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money’

Vinc Pichel expresses frustration with his opponent, Ismael Bonfim, after Bonfim’s missed weight during the UFC Fight Night 231 official weigh-ins in Sao Paulo.

Following Bonfim’s weight miss, Pichel released a statement expressing his disappointment. Bonfim missed the lightweight limit by 3.5 pounds and did not re-weigh. Pichel initially weighed 157 but successfully made weight at 155.5 within the designated time frame.

Shortly after the weigh-ins, the fight between Pichel and Bonfim was canceled. Pichel, not explicitly stating the reason, mentioned he declined the fight to avoid supporting an opponent who failed to meet contractual obligations.

“So as you know my fight is canceled,” Pichel wrote. “My opponent didn’t even try to make weight, and I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money due to this unprofessionalism, which I’m sure he regrets. I am huge on self-responsibility, and he showed none with his actions and significant weight miss. I chose to hold him accountable. I apologize to everyone who was excited to watch me compete and also happy to ruin parlays against me at the same time. In my 15+ year career, I have never missed weight. If you are upset about my decision, I’m sorry, but there is no one else to blame but my opponent. You will see me fight again soon!”

Pichel, 40, has not fought since a March 2022 loss to Mark Madsen, ending his three-fight win streak. Bonfim had a 13-fight win streak halted in July when he was submitted by Benoit Saint-Denis.

The full UFC Fight Night 231 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)

• Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis

• Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby

• Don’Tale Mayes vs. Rodrigo Nascimento

• Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov

• Armen Petrosyan vs. Rodolfo Vieira

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Elves Brener vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky – 165-pound contract weight

• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

• Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vitor Petrino

• Denise Gomes vs. Angela Hill

• Montserrat Conejo vs. Eduarda Moura – 119.5 catchweight (Moura missed weight)

• Marc Diakiese vs. Kaue Fernandes

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie