Klose suffered an injury when he was shoved at the weigh-ins by Stephens at UFC Vegas 24.
UFC lightweight Drakkar Klose will get compensation for his cancelled matchup with Jeremy Stephens, but just not his full purse.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that Klose, who was injured after Stephens shoved him at the UFC Vegas 24 weigh-ins last Friday, will receive his base purse but no win bonus. This came after “some back and forth” with the UFC on this subject. As recently as Monday, Klose reportedly wasn’t even sure if he’s get paid at all, so at least he has his answer.
Klose was diagnosed with a neck sprain and a concussion following Stephens’ push, something Dana White decided to blame on Sean Shelby and not the guy who actually caused the injury.
Drakkar has not fought since his dramatic KO loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC 248 in March of last year. His reported payout for that fight was $40,000 and thanks to the classic between Zhang Weili and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, he was most likely denied Fight of the Night honors as well. Given the bout before that saw him get $28,000/$28,000 for a win over Christos Giagos, perhaps the Dariush bout represented a new contract for Klose.
Whatever the case, keep in mind that only a couple of months ago Klose spoke to BJPenn.com about his intentions to test the free agent market.
“Dude, I’m just trying to get money now. I’m not trying to chase that belt, the UFC already knows who they want to be champion,” Klose said on Just Scrap Radio. “It’s the same couple of people always fighting. You look at the top-10, Al Iaquinta is still in there, he hasn’t fought in two years. To me, it is ridiculous, I’m just trying to get these paycheques.”
“I have three more fights I believe. I’ve never won a belt in any other organization. I’ve beat guys that won belts. I want to get a belt and I don’t care where it is at. If that means me fighting out my contract and going somewhere else to do it, so be it. I love fighting in the UFC, but it is hard to get a belt here, especially at 155,” Klose concluded.
The UFC intends to re-book Klose vs. Stephens at some point, ideally without any weigh-in craziness.