Perennial UFC featherweight contender, Jeremy ‘Lil’ Heathen’ Stephens has been forced to withdraw from his UFC Vegas 13 pairing with division upstart, Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen on November 7 – citing an injury, according to a report from MMA Junkie’s, Nolan King.
Stephens, who was previously linked with an eye-catching featherweight pairing with fellow former lightweight, Edson Barboza for a UFC Fight Island event this month, declined the offer, on that occasion citing a need for more time to prepare for the cut to 145-pounds following his tipping of the scales before his UFC 249 knockout loss to Calvin Kattar.
Stephens was subsequently replaced by Sodiq Yussuf, who was himself replaced by Makwan Amirkhani after he was forced to withdraw due to passport issues – with Barboza ultimately sealing his first victory since his drop to featherweight in a unanimous decision win.
It’s currently unknown if the promotion will attempt to find a short-notice replacement for Ipswich native, Allen who most recently featured at UFC Fight Night Raleigh in late January – taking home a unanimous decision win over Nik Lentz to score his seventh-successive Octagon success.
34-year-old Des Moines, Iowa native Stephens is a thirteen-year, whopping thirty-four fight Octagon veteran. A renowned knockout artist, the Alliance MMA mainstay has managed to score an incredible nineteen knockout wins from twenty-eight overall.
With a 28-18 professional record, Stephens has secured notable wins over Josh Emmett, Doo Ho Choi, former Strikeforce lightweight best, Gilbert Melendez, former bantamweight champion, Renan Barao, The Ultimate Fighter 14 finalist, Dennis Bermudez, and a memorable 2008 knockout over former lightweight titleholder, Rafael dos Anjos.
For Allen, the 26-year-old currently sits at #9 in the promotion’s 145-pound ranks, with an unbeaten 7-0 record under the UFC’s banner. Taking wins against the above mentioned, Lentz and common-opposition, Melendez – Allen has also scored impressive victories over Mads Burnell, and the previously noted, Amirkhani.
UFC Vegas 13 takes place on November 7 from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada – with a high-stakes potential light heavyweight title eliminator between one-time title challengers, Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos and Glover Teixeira expected to take place at the third time of asking.
Jeremy Stephens and Arnold Allen are set to square off on November 7 according to MMA Junkie who report: “Jeremy Stephens and Arnold Allen are on a collision course. The two featherweight notables are set to square off Nov. 7 at an event expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Multiple people with knowledge […]
A featherweight barnburner between Edson Barboza and Jeremy Stephens is in the works. That’s according to Brazilian publication Combate who state that the UFC is currently negotiating the fight to take place on October 3. Barboza is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Dan Ige in his featherweight debut in June. It was […]
Calvin Kattar made a statement at UFC 249 on Saturday night. Kattar returned to the win column with an emphatic finish over Jeremy Stephens on the main card. Stephens had a promising start as he was aggressive early on and landed a number of leg kicks. However, Kattar maintained his composure and landed a number […]
Kattar lands a HUGE right as these two waste no time!
Next up on the UFC 249 main card is a featherweight tilt between Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens. Round 1: Stephens unloads with some strikes but Kattar blocks most of them. Stephens lands a big leg kick and continues to swing. Stephens continues to attack the legs. Kattar lands a good left hook but receives […]