Jeremy Stephens had complimentary words towards former would-be opponent Drakkar Klose, which the latter refused to accept.
There is a bit of history between lightweight fighters Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose. The two were supposed to face each other at UFC Vegas 24 in April 2021, but a hard shove from Stephens during their face-off at the weigh-ins forced Klose off the bout due to a concussion and a neck sprain.
For a while, “Lil Heathen” appeared unremorseful about what he had done, and at one point, even stated that it was the primal BOOM that shoved Klose. But during the 2022 PFL 1 media day, the 35-year-old veteran took on a more mature and complementary approach toward his former would-be opponent.
“Congrats to Drakkar Klose. I imagine with everything that we’ve been through and all the chaos and people misquoting me and all that shit… I wish nothing but the best for him,” Stephens told the media.
“He went there, he got his win, he battled through a lot of shit that he’d been going through and I have nothing but respect. And him going forward, I hope he goes in there and just kills it and crushes it and gets to the top.”
Klose, however, refuses to accept these well-wishes. For him, there remains some unfinished business.
“Someone told him to say that. That’s bullsh-t. It is what it is, and hopefully, he wins his fights in the PFL and makes it back to the UFC so I can fight him,” he told MMA Fighting in a recent interview.
Klose (12-2-1) has since moved on from the canceled bout and made his return on Saturday at UFC Vegas 51 against Brandon Jenkins, whom he defeated via second-round TKO and earned a $50K performance bonus.
Meanwhile, Stephens (28-20, 1 NC) made his PFL debut on Wednesday against Clay Collard. He lost via unanimous decision.