Chicago — Following a unanimous decision win over Edson Barboza at UFC 319, lightweight Drakkar Klose says he’s done calling out opponents.
“Every time I call out a name, I get somebody totally different,” Klose (16-3-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the United Center in Chicago. “I’m not going to call out anyone anymore.”
That said, there are names Klose is interested in. In particular, he’d like to rematch names he’s lost to, including Beneil Dariush and Joel Alvarez. The Alvarez fight, which came in December of 2024, stands out in particular. Klose’s brother Tuan Williams was murdered months prior to the fight, stabbed to death my a mentally ill man he’d been trying to help.
“I would love to get that Beneil fight back. Anyone I really lost to. I’ll fight Joel again. When I fought Joel Alvarez, my brother had got murdered four months prior. Going into that fight, right when I was walking out, I started crying. I had a great camp but I wasn’t there mentally.”
Klose also dedicated the win to his late sibling, who was a fan of Brazil’s Barboza. “This win was for my brother, my big brother. Barboza was actually one of his favorite fighters. So I know my brother’s up there looking down on me right now.”
Watch the full UFC 319 post-fight press conference with Drakkar Klose above.
