Drakkar Klose Out of UFC Fight vs. Jeremy Stephens After Weigh-In Injury
Klose #Klose
Gregory Payan/Associated Press
Saturday’s UFC Fight Night co-main event between lightweights Drakkar Klose and Jeremy Stephens was called off hours before the fight was scheduled to take place, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
Klose said on Twitter he has suffered injuries as a result of this push from Stephens during weigh-ins Friday:
He released a statement around 8 p.m. ET on Saturday:
The fight cancellation was announced on the broadcast. Shortly thereafter, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani broke news that the bout was off because of undisclosed injuries suffered by Klose after Stephens’ push. Klose later revealed the nature of his ailments.
Stephens explained why he felt the need to push Klose in an Instagram post Friday: “Dramas Klose just got a little too close, with aggressive behavior walking up knowing we about to fight I just have zero tolerance for that type of disrespect.”
Stephens vs. Klose was supposed to lead into the main event featuring middleweights Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum, which is still scheduled as planned.
Klose (11-2-1) has won three of his last four bouts. Stephens (28-18, 1 NC) has gone winless in his last five fights. He’s ranked 10th on the UFC featherweight contender list.