It’s safe to say that Jeremy Stephens will not be fighting Drakkar Klose anytime soon.
The two were originally scheduled to fight at UFC Vegas 24 back in April; however, during their pre-fight staredown at the weigh-ins, both fighters got up a bit too close for Stephens’s liking, which caused “Lil’ Heathen” to shove Klose back. The shove caused Klose to suffer a neck injury and, as a result, the bout was scrapped on the day of the event.
Asked if he would take a rescheduled bout with Klose, which could potentially generate a lot of interest due to the bad blood, Stephens quickly shut down the notion on media day for UFC Vegas 31.
“Nah, nah. I’ll never take that fight ever, ever,” said Stephens. “[Klose] had a great opportunity in the co-main event. He never would have had a co-main event if it wasn’t for me, let’s be honest. And the way he went about things? I have zero tolerance for that type of behavior. You know, if he wins and works his way up? For sure. But, honestly, I don’t want that fight. To me, I was just gonna knock his ass out and move on.”
Unsurprisingly, both fighters harbored feelings of animosity towards each other after the incident, with Stephens claiming to have already beat him and Klose vowing to fight him on sight. A bout between the two would make for an interesting storyline going in, but it appears that it will not be happening.
The infamous shove seems to have caused the UFC to take action, as competitors are not allowed to physically touch each other during weigh-in face-offs unless it’s a fist bump, a handshake, or a high five.
Stephens fights this weekend on the main card at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas against Mateusz Gamrot. Stephens is at a massive crossroads in his career after going five fights without a win, losing to the likes of José Aldo, Yair Rodriguez, and Calvin Kattar.
To his credit, his opposition as of late has been against the best fighters in the featherweight division. His last win was against Josh Emmett back in February 2018. Lil’ Heathen will be eager to get back to winning ways tomorrow night.
Would you want to see a rescheduled bout between Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose?
