Des Moines, IA — “Lil Heathen” himself, Jeremy Stephens, returns to the UFC this weekend, fighting at home as part of UFC Des Moines, the promotion’s debut in the Iowa city.
It’s not a return many had seen coming. Stephens (29-21, 1NC) ended his first UFC run on a five-fight skid, his final fight coming in 2021 when he was submitted by Mateusz Gamrot. That appeared to end his time with the company, which had begun at UFC 71 in 2007.
The hard-hitting fighter then moved to the PFL, went 1-2, and found himself in Bareknuckle FC, a landing spot for many former MMA fighters. There, Stephens battled back, earning a 3-0 record including a win over Eddie Alvarez at KnuckleMania V earlier this year. While that might have propelled Stephens to bigger things in the bareknuckle boxing realm, he decided to take a stab at returning to the UFC for a chance to fight at home.
“I always had a dream, a big picture in my head, coming in here and fighting. Everybody that’s here, you guys are in for a f*cking treat I can tell you that, because Des Moines is nuts. It’s going to be a lot more crazier than KC, I can’t wait for you guys to see it on the big screen, live production,” Stephens said on Wednesday, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press at the UFC Des Moines media day, clearly stoked for the event.
“This moment, I made it happen myself. I had to fight bareknuckle, left for dead. Went through some dark, dark times. The pain made me, the struggle, to be here now, it’s amazing,” Stephens added. “I’m super grateful. Every day I wake up just gives me chills about what this moment really is right now.”
Admittedly, as much as Jeremy Stephens made the moment happen, he did have an assist from his wife.
“I was snapping bras and breaking jaws, and then my wife was like ‘hey you should hit up Dana [White, UFC CEO and President].” Stephens questioned whether his age would be a factor, as an older guy, and whether he deserved another shot in the UFC. “I was just kind of like in my nervous thoughts, everybody kind of goes there.” Stephen’s wife was insistent, however, and eventually, he had her draft a message for the promoter. Stephens sent it along on Instagram. Eventually, White responded, telling Stephens that Hunter Campbell would reach out.
When asked about opponents, “I shot big. Conor, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway for the BMF belt. Considering he just got knocked out, I’m thinking real big. I’m going to shoot my shot.” Then came the conversation with Campbell and the UFC. “They gave me the opponent, and he calls me up later, like ‘man congratulations, I’m going to announce it as soon as we get off the phone.'”
And so Stephens is paired up with Mason Jones, in a lightweight bout that kicks off the UFC Des Moines main card. “I want to put him in the f*cking morgue. Bring this pain to purpose,” Stephens stated when asked about his motivation to face Jones, perhaps as opposed to some of those other big names. “I got goals, I got delusions, this is just a little gas stop for the ultimate goals, the dreams. Just an opponent, just like anybody else.”
And that is all Jeremy Stephens needs, he added. “Just an opponent, just a name, so I can put a f*cking toe tag on him when I whup his ass. To do it here in your home town, that’s all I needed, to get back here in the UFC where I f*cking built this sh*t.”
After all, he has 34 fights in the company, many against killers, Stephens pointed out. And post-UFC, “I’ve broken three men in bareknuckle, broke a motherf*cker’s jaw in his home town,” he added. “So I feel like bringing all that to get this opportunity to be here in Des Moines, Iowa, I’m glad I stayed the course, trusted God, never broke character.”
Watch Jeremy Stephen’s full UFC Des Moines media day appearance above.
