UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs Kelvin Gastelum features a co-main event between Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose.
This is a crucial fight for the UFC veteran, Jeremy Stephens. After four consecutive losses in the featherweight division. It’s a tricky situation for any fighter in UFC if he or she is on a four-fight losing streak in the division. Though Stephens is delivering fun fights every time he gets into the octagon he might be on the verge of getting cut from UFC.
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The losses at the featherweight division have, however, forced him to try his luck in the lightweight division. And this is a wise move from Jeremy Stephens as it would certainly help the longevity of his MMA career. But, he will be up against Drakkar Klose who can be a tough test for him.
Drakkar Klose was on a three-fight win streak in the lightweight division before his KO loss to Beneil Darius, who is one of the top lightweights in the world at the moment. So can Stephens get back on the winning streak at UFC Vegas 24? Let’s find out.
Stephens vs Klose Stats
Jeremy Stephens
Wins/Losses- 28/18 (19 KO/TKOs,2 Submissions)
Height- 5 ft 9 inches
Reach- 71 inches
Striking Accuracy- 41%
Grappling Accuracy- 38%
Last 5 fights- 4 losses 1 No Contest
Drakkar Klose-
Wins/Losses- 11/2 (4 KO/TKOs)
Height- 5 ft 8 inches
Reach- 70 inches
Striking Accuracy-50%
Grappling Accuracy-31%
Last 5 fights- 4 losses 1 No Contest
Jeremy Stephens vs Drakkar Klose Prediction
The pressure will be on the veteran, Jeremy Stephens going into the fight to get back on the winning column. Besides that, he will be moving up to a lightweight division and that might play a factor in the fight to some extent.
However, Jeremy Stephens is one of the most experienced fighters in UFC. He has been in the organization for over a decade and has fought some of the toughest fighters of this generation such as Max Holloway, Rafael Dos Anjos, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Frankie Edgar, Gilbert Melendez, and the list goes on. So we can expect Stephens to adjust to the new weight class fairly easily.
Despite the losses in his last four fights, Jeremy Stephens has looked good. In his last fight, he had a lot of success against Calvin Kattar in round 1, but he got knocked out in the second round. Similarly, he made an incredible comeback against Yair Rodriguez in the 3rd round and had his moments in the fight. He also pushed Zabit Magomedsharipov to the limit in the third round. In short, Jeremy Stephens has been putting up great performances against the top UFC featherweights.
On the other hand, Drakkar Klose is coming off his first KO loss to Beneil Dariush. He is still relatively young in UFC with only 7 fights in the organization. But, the craziest fact is Stephens is 34 years old while Klose is 33. And the experience gap is massive.
Though Drakkar Klose has shown good striking in his UFC career he is not a knockout artist. And it’s incredibly difficult to put Jeremy Stephens away inside the octagon. He is one of the toughest opponents inside the octagon who can fight three rounds at a high pace. He is a overall better fighter in this matchup.
Stephens should get the job done this weekend and get back on the winning streak. He has the striking and the power to knock out Drakkar Klose. And that’s the most possible outcome of this fight.
Jeremy Stephens vs Drakkar Klose Prediction: Jeremy Stephens via Stoppage
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