After a questionable stoppage early in the night, ref Herb Dean made his presence felt at UFC 218 again in — and not in a good way.
Michigan’s own Drakkar Klose was back in action at UFC 218 in Detroit on Saturday. In his way? The surging David Teymur, winner of six straight, three of which came in the UFC. The bout went down as part of the UFC 218 televised preliminary card, which aired live on Fox Sports 1.
Klose, for his part, started the night undefeated with eight wins. The closest thing to a blemish on his record was a 2016 draw outside the UFC.
When the action got underway, Klose opened with a kick, while Teymur circled out of harm’s way. David Teymur seemed to have a specific game plan, but that was soon thrown for a loop. Klose attempted to goad him into a standup war, throwing up his hands at points, and at another, standing perfectly still, dropping his hands and staring. With Teymur refusing to be lured into a brawl, it was ref Herb Dean who threw a wrench in the mix. He stopped the action to warn Teymur about backing up, despite Teymur having launched plenty of offensive attacks. For whatever reason, it appeared Dean bought into Klose’s antics.
The end result was Teymur having to modify his strategy. Less circling, for starters. Klose then shot in for an explosive takedown, but David Teymur was right back up.
In the second, Klose looked to get going, while Teymur started going high with his kicks. Dean then warned both fighters to start fighting, another curious moment given they very much were. Klose tried to catch a kick to close the distance, but at this point he was getting the worse end of the stick, as Teymur proved proficient as always at counter-striking. Teymur shot in for a takedown of his own, and was stuffed. He’d even try some trash talk of his own a bit later, but ate a punch shortly after. He would, however, score a late takedown, landing in Klose’s guard.
Round three saw Teymur continue with effective counter-striking and kicks to the body. Klose seemed unable to find his way in without taking damage; he’d fail with a superman punch attempt. Shortly after, Teymur landed a big knee, but an eye poke stopped the action. Back underway, Klose would score another takedown before the end of the bout, but again, could not keep David Teymur down. They’d go the distance, with Teymur getting the unanimous decision from the judges.
David Teymur def. Drakkar Klose by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
