UFC Vegas 24 was supposed to play host to one of the most highly anticipated Lightweight fights of the year. At the weigh-ins, Jeremy Stephens would shove Drakkar Klose, causing Klose to suffer a concussion and a cervical sprain of the neck. And in his own words, Klose was certainly not happy about what happened.
Full quote from MMAFighting.com:
“According to Dana White, that’s a savage move he did,” Klose said. “I had seen some interview and he was talking like, ‘Jeremy’s a savage’ – no, that’s a bitch move. I believe I should’ve gotten paid both [win and show money], I came, I was being professional and I did everything possible. He f*cked it up, not me.
Klose has certainly been around the game for a while, suffering KO losses on his record. But he would go on to comment about how he felt after getting shoved at the weigh-ins.
“I didn’t have headaches after I got knocked out by Beneil [Dariush]. I think, doing that weight cut, I only had like 10 ounces of water in me before we did the staredown, and I was still dehydrated. It’s just crazy how that whiplash can do that to you.”
Fans across the internet took exception to the shove, calling out Stephens for his childish antics on the eve of UFC Vegas 24, and rightfully so. But the way Drakkar Klose sees it, he has been able to find some silver linings throughout this whole process.
“It’s been a lot of hate,” Klose explained. “A lot of hate, but a lot of people have been telling me their situations, and their problems with neck injuries and stuff like that. I’m just glad I didn’t step in that cage that night. One punch, it could’ve changed my life. Dealing with your brain, you only get one brain and you have to be smart. I’m just glad I had the right people around me and I didn’t fight.”
Klose hopes to run this fight back, sometime in July or in the summer in general. But, Klose now sees Stephens as a rival and promises when he sees him, in or out of the cage, it’s on sight.
“I would love to fight him,” Klose said. “I’m not sure how long it’s gonna take to [recover] from my neck getting injured. I still haven’t done anything to try and get my heart rate up, so I’m not sure how my head will respond to that. But I want to get in there and fight him. He knows he was gonna get his ass whooped that night, and that’s why he did that. I can’t wait to get in there and beat him up.
Dana White and the UFC did the right thing and gave Drakkar Klose his money, giving him his show money, along with the promotional compliance pay for their sponsorship with Venum.
