Drakkar Klose plans featherweight move if he can ‘starch’ Jeremy Stephens at UFC on ESPN 22

Farah Hannoun and MMA Junkie Radio
·2 min read

Drakkar Klose’s future will be at featherweight if he’s victorious against Jeremy Stephens.

Klose (11-2-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Stephens in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 22, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

It’ll be the first time Klose enters the octagon in over a year. Two of his fights, against Jai Herbert and Luis Pena, were canceled in February, and he is eager to return. But Klose says if he’s able to get a definitive win over Stephens, he’ll drop down to 145 pounds.

“I wanted to fight four times this year,” Klose told MMA Junkie Radio. “This will be my first fight, but second weight cut, just flow with it. After this, depending on how it goes, if I go in there and starch him, cut down to ’45 and give it a run for the title at that weight.”

Klose will be taking on the experienced Stephens (28-18 MMA, 15-17 UFC), a gritty veteran who’s battled the who’s who throughout his career. Both men like to throw down, which Klose thinks makes for an inevitably exciting scrap.

“He’s a big name, he’s a pioneer of this sport, and it’s just a big opportunity to get out there and put him on my resume,” Klose said.

He continued, “I’m excited because I think me and him are similar. We go out there and throw and someone’s gonna get knocked out. It’s gonna come down to who’s smarter. I think I might be. He has a lot more miles than me so I think I may be a little smarter, so it’s gonna be fireworks.”

In his past outing, Klose saw his three-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Beneil Dariush at UFC 248. In one of the most entertaining fight-ending sequences, Klose rocked Dariush, but paid for it when he got overzealous and clipped himself, which cost him the fight.

But this time, Klose has learned from his mistakes and vows to show a more mature approach.

“I had a game plan when I was fighting Beneil and once I rocked him, it went out the window,” Klose said. “I got reckless, and I paid for it. This fight, I have a game plan, and I’m gonna stick to it because, at the end of the day, I just need to win. I want to entertain the fans, but I need to get that check.”