Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship fan-favorite
Jeremy
Stephens is getting a new opponent for his return to
lightweight. On Thursday,
MMA Junkie reported that Stephens (28-18, 1 NC) is still
planning a trip back to 155 pounds, but it will not be against the
previously planned Drakkar
Klose any longer. Instead, Stephens will greet Mateusz
Gamrot (18-1, 1 NC) inside the Octagon on July 17. The UFC
Fight Night card on that date does not yet have a location or venue
set, although it is expected to take place inside the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas due to the pandemic still raging on. Gamrot has since
confirmed the news of this booking on his Instagram.
Stephens was booked against Klose at UFC on ESPN 22 in April, but a
weigh-in altercation where Stephens grabbed Klose’s neck,
inflicting damage on Klose and forced the latter out of the fight.
Klose was later diagnosed
with a concussion as well as a sprained neck from this
incident, but Stephens was not suspended or otherwise publicly
reprimanded as he is booked to compete in two months. It is
uncertain when Klose will be cleared to fight again.
“Lil Heathen” has not won a fight since 2018, with four losses
including a pair of knockout defeats to Calvin
Kattar and Jose Aldo
along the way. An accidental eye poke ruled a no contest against
Yair
Rodriguez was run back a month later, and Stephens dropped a
hard-fought decision where he came on strong in the final round.
The Alliance MMA standout has suffered the most losses in company
history with 17, but it is partly due to him having the fourth-most
bouts (33) of any UFC fighter. This will be his first trip to
lightweight since 2012, when Yves Edwards
handed him his first career knockout loss.
Former two-division KSW champ Gamrot came to the UFC with a gaudy
record of 17-0 with a no contest, and he faced fellow newcomer
Guram
Kutateladze in his debut. The decision did not go his way,
although one judge scored it for him, but he was able to bounce
back to his winning ways by bulldozing Scott
Holtzman in April. “Gamer” left the KSW roster with what still
remains the winningest record without a loss, as the Polish
ex-champ racked up 13 wins without a single setback from 2013 to
2020.
The UFC Fight Night event on July 17 has no current destination,
although it most likely will be held inside the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. There is no current headliner, but top-billed matchups on
the card include the return of Miesha Tate
against Marion
Reneau at bantamweight, while Gamrot’s former foe Kutateladze
takes on Don Madge in a
lightweight affair.
