Jeremy Stephens is a former UFC fighter with an MMA record of 29-21. He had been associated with the leading mixed martial arts promotion, UFC, since 2007 and fought his last bout in July 2021. As his record suggests, Stephens is a highly experienced fighter, but hasn’t been the most consistent fighter throughout the years.
In his last six fights in the UFC, he could not even register a single victory. This was one of the reasons for his exit from the promotion in 2021.
In his last fight, Stephens was up against Mateusz Gamrot, a Polish professional mixed martial artist, at UFC Fight Night in July 2021. He lost by a first-round submission. Previously, Stephens even tried moving down a division at 145 lbs, but his inconsistency followed him there too, and he could not really leave a mark in the featherweight division either.
In January 2022, it was made public that after 15 years with the UFC and having fought 33 fights for them, Jeremy Stephens‘ contract was not renewed. In an interview on The MMA Hour, ‘Lil Heathen’ talked about his pay being the major reason for the cancelation of the contract.
He further expressed that the UFC had time and again failed to get a suitable matchup for him. This sometimes led to him fighting only once a year, which meant he had to survive on one paycheck for the whole year. This led to Stephens making the difficult decision to leave the promotion.
Jeremy Stephens feels betrayed by the UFC
Jeremy Stephens is a veteran of the UFC, as he has been associated with them since 2007, when the promotion was not as big as it is now. So he has his reasons to be upset with the company. He complained that he did everything he could for them but did not receive a similar response.
“I just want the opportunity to get to work and earn my paycheck; I felt like I deserved that, you know. I have earned the right to; you know, I’ve fought nothing but the best… I’ve done everything for that company, and I don’t feel like they have my back in return and are giving me a favorable matchup.” – said Jeremy Stephens
After this announcement, Stephens did not have to wait long for his MMA return, as he was signed by the Professional Fighters League (PFL) for the 2022 season. He has revealed that he was earning a bit more in this promotion compared to the UFC.
The American fighter has featured in three lightweight bouts in the PFL and has lost two of them. His last MMA contest was against Brazilian fighter Natan Schulte in November 2022, where he lost by submission in the second round.
However, 2023 marked the entry of Jeremy Stephens into the world of boxing. He fought another UFC veteran, Jose Aldo, in his debut in April 2023, and the bout was declared a draw by majority decision. His next boxing contest is going to be against Chris Avila on August 5, with the card headlined by Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz.