Jeremy Stephens wishes former foe Drakkar Klose nothing but the best.
On Saturday, it was a year to the day when Stephens shoved Klose at the UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum weigh-ins. The fight between them was scrapped after Klose suffered whiplash and other injuries as a result of the incident.
Klose told BJPenn.com recently that he is still suffering injuries because of that shove, adding that he’ll have to deal with those injuries for the rest of his career. Recently, Stephens told MMA Mania that it is what it is and suggested Klose move on, which rubbed people the wrong way.
At the PFL 1 media day on Monday, Stephens had a different perspective and seemed to change his tone. While he didn’t watch Klose’s recent win this past Saturday, he gave Klose praise.
“Congrats to Drakkar Klose, man. You know, I’d imagine with everything that we’ve been through and all of the chaos, and people misquoting me- all that sh*t. I wish nothing but the best for him,” Stephens told Cageside Press during his media scrum. “He went and got his win and battled through a lot of sh*t that he’d been going through. I have nothing but respect with him going forward. I hope he goes in there and kills it and gets to the top.”
With Stephens cleaning his side of the street in a way, the drama with Klose is now hopefully over.
“Lil Heathen” headlines like PFL 1 on April 20 in his first fight outside of the UFC in 15 years. He doesn’t see it as a fresh start, however. Instead, he sees it as him getting on another roller coaster; this time, one called the PFL.
“It’s been a lot. This has been a long road. The two years, my last fight, leading up to that, things that had happened in between there, it was just an emotional roller coaster. Now I just feel it’s towards the end of the ride, I can get off, I can go to a new rollar coaster, and make some new excitement,” he said of his return to action.
PFL 1 2022 goes down April 20, 2022 on ESPN and ESPN+, live from the ESports Stadium in Arlington, TX.
