After a heated scuffle at the weigh-ins that resulted in an aggressive push, Jeremy Stephens is no longer interested in a lightweight fight with Drakkar Klose.
Despite never actually getting locked in the cage with Klose, Jeremy Stephens believes that he already won upon shoving his opponent at the weigh-ins. Specifically, when the two faced off, Stephens was seen pushing Klose back with both hands. After the fact, the “Lil’ Heathen” is adamant that he won the fight since Klose never showed up due to lingering effects from the hard shove.
Yet, Jeremy Stephens still says he was unsure why the fight never came together, as he states he was more than willing to step up at that moment. In the heat of the situation, Stephens believes that it was all just primal instinct.
“I feel like my presence and the primal boom pushed him. I saw it in his eyes, bro, right then and there. From a fighter and a man to a man, when you get face-to-face with somebody, you just f*cking know, ‘I got you.’ He didn’t show up. He didn’t show up. I felt like I came too hungry, too primal.” Jeremy Stephens told MMA Junkie.
As part of the UFC since 2007, the veteran doesn’t believe he made a mistake. With a thick layer of tension between the two prior to the April fight, it was clear there was some bad blood. However, the UFC seasoned veteran is moving on from the idea of facing Klose again.
“It’s a fight I won,” Stephens said. “I won. I got paid a little bit of money. I feel like I won. I showed up. He didn’t. He was claiming like, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this, do that.’ He was, like, crying. Bro, you should have just showed up and fought. But he didn’t. I don’t have any ill-will toward ‘Jaffar’ or anybody in his crew. I moved on. I’m at peace with myself. I’m very happy the way that I showed up, primally ready to f*cking fight. You know, Dana says that I’m a savage. I’m there to fight that. You can just tell, again, by my interview, I showed up hungry. I conquered. I won.”
Jeremy Stephens, bottom line, believes that Klose should have shown up for the fight. As a fighter spanning many different eras of the game, Stephens has seen it all, and he is used to the pre-fight tactics that lead into a fight.
Since the shove, Stephens is ready to move on and look for his next opportunity in the lightweight division. Having gone 0-5 in his last several outings, certainly the next fight in the UFC for Stephens will be consequential to where he goes from here.
Jeremy Stephens holds a professional record of 28-18 will face the Mateusz Gamrot, who holds a record of 18-1, on July 17.
Would you like to see Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose fight or is it time to move on?