Jonathan Pearce declines UFC Vegas 25 fight after Gabriel Benitez badly misses weight

Jonathan Pearce isn’t letting Gabriel Benitez off the hook following an egregious weight miss on Friday morning.

Ahead of their preliminary featherweight bout Saturday at UFC Vegas 25, Benitez failed to make weight, coming in at 150.5 pounds, which is 4.5 pounds over the limit even with the one-pound allowance for non-title fights. The UFC initially stated that the bout would proceed at a catchweight with Benitez forfeiting 30 percent of his purse to Pearce, but apparently Pearce had other plans.

Pearce later posted on Instagram that he will not be fighting Benitez on Saturday due to Benitez failing to make weight.

Unfortunately, my opponent came in almost 5lb overweight and our fight is off. I did my part by showing up and making weight and I won’t reward him by accepting a fight and giving away any advantage. I’m trying to be smart about my career, and I hope to be back in the cage soon.

“I did my part by showing up and making weight and I won’t reward him by accepting a fight and giving away any advantage,” Pearce said in the above statement.

This was to be Benitez’s return to 145 pounds after a 1-1 stint at lightweight last year.

The UFC has not officially announced the change to the card, but the Pearce-Benitez matchup is not listed on the site’s upcoming results page.

UFC Vegas 25 will proceed with 11 scheduled fights.