“I’m ready to do another one, I’m ready to fight next week,” Green told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I’ll be honest, if I can get on the Vegas card next week, surprise, come in and surprise everybody and do a fight out there that’d be dope.”

Green (35-17-1) was still so fresh after the fight that he called for a spot on UFC Vegas 117 headlined by Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa at the Meta APEX. Unlikely as it may be that he gets a fight on the card it shows that Green is in a bit of a hurry to stack some more fights together in 2026.

“I don’t even feel like I got in a fight, and I didn’t like the way I finished it. I wanted to knock him out and get that. Make sure that I solidified myself as one of the greatest fighters to ever step on these mats. That’s what I was saying to Dana is I’m one of the greatest to ever do this,” he said.

“I told him hey bro, I even told him when we were standing on our face off, I was like listen there is no loser,” said Green.

“The work you’ve done in this cage, the work I’ve done in this cage, there is no loser. You’re great no matter what. That’s what I was telling him at the face-off. There is no loser. We’re great fighters, bro.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with King Green above.

The post King Green Unsatisfied After UFC 328 Win, Pushes for Immediate Return appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the co-main event, UFC Flyweight Champion, Joshua Van, successfully defended his strap in a masterful boxing performance over challenger, Tatsuro Taira. In the main event, Sean Strickland edged out the UFC Middleweight Champion, Khamzat Chimaev to snatch back the belt. Only one non-ranked fighter on this edition of What’s Next, but a potential move up in weight for a couple of fighters.

Khamzat Chimaev

(#3) Sean Strickland surprised quite a few fans with his split decision victory of champion Khamzat Chimaev to win back the middleweight title at UFC 328 on Saturday. It was a hard fought bout for both men with Khamzat first looking nearly unstoppable, before his grappling started to fail him early/midway through the fight. This loss was the first of Khamzat’s career, though Kamaru Usman notably took Chimaev to a majority decision on short notice back in 2023. Chimaev is now 15-1 as a pro and 9-1 in the UFC since being signed in 2020.

205lbs.

Not sure if Khamzat will elect to move up to 205lbs or not with his 6’2″ frame and 75″ reach. But, according to UFC President Dana White in the UFC 328 post-fight press conference, Chimaev wants to give light heavyweight a go. If Khamzat indeed moves up, an excellent high profile, immediate test would be against (#6) Jamahal Hill. Jamahal is a 2019 Contender Series alum that has the seemingly unimpressive UFC record of 6-4 with 1 NC. He’s riding a -three-fight losing streak. But upon further inspection, he’s a former UFC light heavyweight champion that strung together a 4-fight win streak to take down Glover Teixeira for the belt in 2023. Hill has dropped three straight since then, losing to Alex Pereira, Jiri Porchazka and most recently Khalil Rountree Jr., last June. This fight would be a dangerous striking litmus test for Khamzat at 205lbs. Hill is 6’4″ with a 79″ reach. This fight could serve as part of a PPV card up to the co main event slot.

185lbs.

If Khamzat changes his mind and stays at 185lbs., the next matchup should be against (#5) Caio Borralho. Caio is 8-1 in the UFC and 1-1 in his last two. He lost to (#2) Nassourdine Imavov in September before bouncing back against Reinier de Ridder earlier this year. Timing would be a tad off but it could still make a lot of since and set up a title shot for either fighter.

Khamzat’s next fight: (#6) Jamahal Hill at 205lbs or (#5) Caio Borralho at 185lbs.

Tatsuro Taira

Flyweight champ Joshua Van brutalized (#3) Tatsuro Taira with his boxing at UFC 328 on Saturday eventually finishing the Japanese fighter after evading grappling exchanges and submissions. Taira showed massive amounts of grit in the bout and his tenacity eventually earned this scrap Fight of the Night honors. Even though Taira came in as a slight favorite, his stock doesn’t drop too horribly after a gutsy performance like that. Tatsuro is now 8-2 in the UFC since being signed in 2022. Taira is 2-2 in his last four bouts. But he’s earned fight of the night honors in both defeats. Tatsuro was riding a two-fight win streak heading into Saturday with second round stoppages over Hyun Sung Park and Brandon Moreno.

Taira’s next fight should be against the loser of Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi. That fight goes down on June 20 and is also in the main event slot. Timing wouldn’t be the best but it’d be worth waiting for either either fighter. Kape is currently 7-3 with the UFC and is riding a 3-fight win streak that saw him stop (#15) Bruno Silva, (#8) Asu Almabayev and most recently (#4) Brandon Royval.

Horiguchi is 9-1 with the UFC in total but is 2-0 since being signed back with the promotion in 2025. The former RIZIN flyweight champion has defeated (#14) Tagir Ulanbekov and (#7) Amir Albazi in his second stint with the promotion. Both fighters are ascending and with a victory could likely fight for the title. Since Taira just gave a good showing for the strap he’d be the obvious choice for the loser. This bout could even potentially be on the same card as the flyweight championship bout to line the winner up to take on the Flyweight Champ.

Tatsuro’s next fight: (#2) Manel Kape vs. (#5) Kyoji Horiguchi loser

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

(#2) Alexander Volkov turned in an excellent performance, despite a little chaos late, to capture a unanimous decision victory over (#4) Waldo Cortes-Acosta on Saturday night. The defeat cooled off the 2022 Contender Series Alum as it snapped a 3-fight win streak. Cortes-Acosta is now 10-3 with the UFC. His other losses are to Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Sergei Pavlovich. Heading into this fight he had stopped Ante Delija, Shamil Gaziev and most recently, Derrick Lewis.

Curtis Blaydes Matchup

For his next fight Waldo should take on Curtis Blaydes. Curtis was previously matched up with the winner of Shamil Gaziev vs. Brando Pericic winner on the UFC 327 losers article. Perhaps that matchup isn’t the best option seeing Brando end up getting the stoppage victory over Shamil along with the heavyweight ranking of #15.  Giving Blaydes a fighter like Waldo seems more appropriate. And it seems like a good step for Waldo as well after a loss to top ranked Volkov. Blaydes is 2-3 in his last five. Those three losses came to (#3) Sergei Pavlovich, UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tom Aspinal and most recently (#5) Josh Hokit. He’s beat Jailton Alemdia and (#8) Rizvan Kuniev in that stretch. This could be on the main card of a PPV and gives fans a striker vs. grappler matchup between two top-level heavyweights.

Josh Hokit Matchup

Good backup fight here, if everything falls into place for it, would be (#5) Josh Hokit. Josh is a 2025 Contender Series alum and is just 3-0 with the promotion.  If he gets through Derrick Lewis on short turnaround he’d still need another legitimate win. Especially before unlocking a matchup with the upper echelon on the division. Cortes-Acosta could be that name. But only if it materializes right. That fight goes down on June 14.

Waldo’s next fight:  (#7) Curtis Blaydes or (#5) Josh Hokit if he beats (#9) Derrick Lewis 

Joaquin Buckley

(#6) Sean Brady used his grappling prowess on the main card of UFC 328 on Saturday to find the unanimous decision victory opposite of (#9) Joaquin Buckley. This loss marks just the second time Buckley has been on a losing streak in his 29-fight career (the other being 2022 when he lost to Naasourdine Imavov and then Chris Curtis). Stings for Buckley as before this 2-fight skid he was riding a 6-fight wins streak with included stoppages over former title challengers in Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington.

Gabriel Bonfim Matchup

For his next fight, Joaquin Buckley should take on Gabriel Bonfim if he loses to Belal Muhammad. That fight is scheduled for June 6th so the timing would be great. Bonfim is 6-1 with the promotion with his only loss coming to Nicolas Dalby in 2023. Since then, Bonfim has racked up four in a row including finishes against Khaos Williams and most recently, Randy Brown. Bonfim also has a win over Stephen Thompson in that stretch. It’d also offer fans a great standup matchup. If former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad loses, not sure the grappling aspect would be a good option for Buckley considering the outcome of UFC 328.

Yaroslav Amosov Matchup

Good backup option here would be Yaroslav Amosov. Yarolsav is a former Bellator Welterweight title Challenger a promotion where he went 8-1. Amosov is 2-0 with the UFC since his signing last year. Yaroslav has stopped Neil Magny and on the undercard of UFC 328 he took two rounds to submit Joel Alvarez with an arm triangle choke. Don’t sleep on this matchup. It could be a viable option for the promotion if they’d like to push Amosov at all. Could be a co main or a main of a fight night or a PPV opener/ feature prelim.

Joaquin’s next fight: (#10) Gabriel Bonfim if he loses to (#5) Belal Muhammad or (#14) Yaroslav Amosov

Jeremy Stephens

King Green looked as sharp as ever showing off his signature striking before electing to get the job done on the ground via a late first round submission victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 328. Jeremy’s 36th UFC showing went from bad to worse, first 4 lbs. heavy and then proceeded to get finished. Stephens also lost his UFC return last year in a unanimous decision to Mason Jones. Since that fight he suffered a stoppage opposite of Mike Perry during a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship bout.

Seemed like Stephens was ready to call it a career after his bout with Green as he removed his gloves. But if he gets another bout in with the UFC a perfect option would be a fighter like Jared Gordon. Jared also suffered a submission defeat on the UFC 328 card. Jim Miller took under a round to catch Jared in a guillotine to bring Gordon to 9-8 with the UFC. Gordon has lost three of his last four bouts. Losses in this stretch include Nasrat Haqparast, Rafa Garcia and now Jim Miller. Walking back a previous losers article matchup here, as an Alexander Hernandez bout just doesn’t make much sense here even though he also is coming off a loss to Rafa Garcia too. Gordon shares three common oppeonts with Stephens: King Green, Charles Olivera and Jim Miller. All losses- except Green vs. Gordon ending via NC

Jeremy’s next bout: Retirement or Jared Gordon

The post What’s Next: UFC 328 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

The lone fighter to have missed weight for the event, Stephens came in four pounds heavy. “Lil Heathen” was seeking his first win since returning to the UFC last year in a loss against Mason Jones; Green had won two straight.

Green started the round off with a couple of stiff teeps, and his usual very low guard. Stephens was applying pressure, picking his shots. But everything was landing with strong intent. You could definitely see that Green was feeling confident in his movement and striking, as Stephens bit down on Green’s feints early in the round.

Stephens was really trying to close the distance, able to get inside the clinch and force Green to the cage. Stephens found a nice inside elbow but couldn’t keep him there long. Green broke away and got back to his movement, bringing the fight back to the open area of the octagon.

The two would find themselves in a nice little exchange, starting to show an exciting round! During the exchange, Green caught Stephens, leaving him to seem a little wobbly. Shortly after, Green landed an accidental kick to the groin causing Stephens to take four minutes of his five minute recovery time.

As they got back to work, Stephen closed the distance immediately trying to put Green back on the fence. A couple of back and forth exchanges followed, Green just being a step ahead.

Stephens wound up on a big hook, just a little too telegraphed helping Green time a nice double leg; he landed in the guard of Stephens and got straight to work.

Green was landing some heavy ground and pound! Stephens was doing his best to defend, even attempting to hit a kimura on King Green – close but not close enough. Green defended and quickly transitioned to side control. After some scrambling from Stephens, Green was able to find the back and sink in a deep rear-naked choke. Quickly after, he forced the tap while not even having both hooks in.

Putting Green on his third straight win, he’s got to have the division’s notice at this point. Jeremy Stephens, meanwhile, stripped off his gloves after the fight and exited the octagon, potentially signaling that he was hanging them up.

Looks like Jeremy Stephens is going to call it a day

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 10, 2026

Official result: King Green def. Jeremy Stephens by rear-naked choke, Round 1, 4:20

The post UFC 328: King Green Submits Jeremy Stephens, Who Signals Retirement appeared first on Cageside Press.

As he prepares to face Jeremy Stephens at UFC 328 on Saturday night, the veteran is embracing a simple approach. Stay active, take whoever is put in front of him, and make the most of what he knows are the final chapters of his career.

“To keep it real bro, like, I just put whoever they put on the list. I just fought like a month or so ago, I got a week off, I went with my kids spent a weekend with my kids,” Green told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“Then back to work and whoever they put on the list is was whoever they put on the list.”

Green (34-17-1) knows time isn’t on his side, and he’s looking to stay as active as possible while he still can. Ahead of his matchup with Stephens, the veteran made it clear he’s pushing to maximize every opportunity left in his career.

“I’m trying to roll them out. I’m getting owed, I got limited time to do this, you better get me while I’m here. So I told the UFC hey you got 10 days to go let me heal up and go find me another fight,” he said.

“Or I’m going to go get lasik surgery on my eyes and it’s going to take a while. I’ve got to hurry up before I turn 40.”

Green has never fought for UFC gold and admits he never really thought about belts until the BMF title was created. He’d love a shot at winning that title and giving the belt back to the man that created it.

“I never really had my eyes on any titles, but man that BMF belt has been looking real good lately,” said Green.

“My big bro is Nate Diaz. He created the belt. It’d be an ultimate honor if I could fight for the BMF belt, grab that sh*t, and be like ‘hey Nate. This is yours. This belong to you.’ Give it back to him.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with King Green above. He faces Jeremy Stephens at UFC 328 on Saturday night.

The post King Green Says Time Is Running Out, Wants Big Fights and BMF Belt Shot appeared first on Cageside Press.

One year later, Stephens is back, this time in a fight with a fellow veteran in King Green.

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press during the UFC 328 media day, “Lil Heathen” shed some insight on how the booking came together.

“After my last fight, I couldn’t sleep, and I hit up Dana like a day or two later, and I was just like ‘man, give me another opportunity. Give me Mike Chandler, give my somebody my age, somebody that is up there, that has got fights like me, not these young hungry killers on short notice,” revealed Stephens (29-22, 1NC). “Give me somebody and let me just prepare. That was the main thing.”

Regardless of who he trained with, be it one of the greats like Anderson Silva or Georges St-Pierre, Stephens said he had the time to prepare for the Jones fight, and wasn’t making excuses. So instead he asked for a fellow veteran.

“Let me fight someone my age, someone who’s actually down to fight, who’s been in the game, something like that. We asked for those guys.”

After Green’s last performance, Stephens hit up his manager, who asked the UFC for the fight. Now it’s set. And as for how Green has looked of late, “he looks great. Still got spring in his step still, still smooth as sh*t. That’s f*cking awesome. Then you go in and knock out a young, hungry contender. It’s match-ups, it’s timing.”

Stephens, who left the UFC in 2021 then went 1-2 for the PFL, never expected to return, he admitted on Wednesday. “I didn’t even think I’d be back in the UFC with stuff that had kind of happened. With my losing streak, the way I was performing. To pull myself out of bare-knuckle, out of the gutter. You ever see the moving The Ring? Like crawling myself out of the well, hunting people down to get back here.”

“I’m super-grateful, and obviously I’ve got the fans to thank for that because they’re still tuning into my fights, they like what they see,” he added.

Later, he’d suggest that “most people, they get canned from the UFC, they get fat, they f*cking retire, or they lose their mental health. And I’m not even joking, that’s not even funny, that’s just f*cking facts.”

“I have a big brother that’s looking down, Anthony Johnson. I’ve seen him do it, he got outside of UFC, moved up weight classes and he was just banging heads. Next thing you know, he’s banging on the UFC’s door again, they let him back and then he ends up fighting for a title. I kind of kept that inspiration.”

Antony “Rumble” Johnson fought from welterweight to light heavyweight in the UFC, with his first run lasting from 2007 to 2012. Struggles making weight saw him shown the door off a loss, but Johnson went on a tear outside the company, earning six straight victories prior to his return in 2014. In 2015 and again in 2017, he faced Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight championship. Johnson tragically passed away in 2022 while battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, but it’s clear Stephens is still inspired by “Rumble.”

As for what keeps Jeremy Stephens going after over 60 pro fights in multiple combat sports, it’s the ability “to adapt, to keep a growing mindset, to keep positivity,” he stated. “Even in the negative, to find something positive. I’m probably one of the most positive people you’ll ever meet, come across. I don’t accept ‘no,’ I believe in God, I have such strong faith even when people don’t see it. And then Charles Darwin: It’s not the strongest or the smartest, it’s the person willing to adapt to change.”

“I’m willing to adapt, to grow, to learn, to fail, to be humiliated, to go through sh*t to crawl out of the mud, and get what I feel like is certain in my heart and my mind, and that’s positivity and growing to be better every day.”

Watch the full UFC 328 media day appearance by Jeremy Stephens above.

The post UFC 328: Jeremy Stephens Cites Anthony “Rumble” Johnson As Inspiration appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Thursday, UFC officials announced that Chimaev (15-0) will make his first title defense in May, when he’ll take on Sean Strickland (30-7) in the main event of UFC 328.

The card takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on May 9, 2026, and sees Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta serving as co-headliner.

Chimaev defeated Dricus Du Plessis with apparent ease at UFC 319 last August. That marked the Chechen’s long-awaited summit at the top of the middleweight mountain. The only knock on “Borz” over the past few years has been his lack of activity, partly due to illness. He’s fought just once in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025.

That’s a drastic change of course from his early UFC career, when he set activity records in the promotion.

Strickland reinserted himself in the title picture by defeated the surging Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez by knockout in the main event of UFC Houston last month. After shocking the MMA world by defeating Israel Adesanya to claim gold in September of 2023, Strickland lost the title to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto the following January.

A win over Paulo Costa earned Strickland a second crack at Du Plessis last year, but that fight didn’t go his way either. Yet with Reinier de Ridder falling off, Caio Borralho coming off a single win, and Hernandez having had the best case for a chance at gold, Strickland’s timing has proven perfect.

Thought Nassourdine Imavov might have something to say about it.

Announced for the UFC 328 card on May 9 are the following match-ups:

• Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland – for the UFC middleweight championship
• Alexander Volkov vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
• Sean Brady vs. Joaquin Buckley
• Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
• King Green vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Ateba Gautier vs. Ozzy Diaz

The post Chimaev vs. Strickland Title Fight Headlines UFC 328 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Stephens (29-21) owns a highlight reel of wars whether he was winning or losing. One of MMA’s fan favorite brawlers Stephens made his way back to the UFC after a run in boxing and in BKFC among other promotions. Last time he stepped into a UFC octagon he lost via submission against Mateusz Gamrot.

Jones (15-2) also made his return to the UFC in Des Moines. Jones left the UFC following a loss to L’udovit Klein and then rattled off 4-straight victories with Cage Warriors. The 30-year-old looked to add the Stephens name to his resume on Saturday night.

Round 1 ref said go and Jones sent a head kick right away. Stephens played it way safer than fans are used to blocking kicks and sending his own. Jones worked the jab pretty well early on and avoided most of the early heavy attacks from Stephens.

Jones put the pressure on Stephens landing combinations and leg kicks to end them. Stephens finally popped off some hands, but it did nothing to stop Jones from coming forward. Stephens landed a heavy right hand around the 2:30 mark, but Jones made him pay for it with a combo.

Jones in the first round moved like a finely tuned race car. He took Stephens down twice in the round and finished it on the back looking for the RNC before running out of time.

Round 2 Stephens came out on fire landing big shots and forcing Jones to fight. The younger fighter decided he’d play ‘Lil Heathen’s’ game a bit with the striking. Jones was able to land a menu of techniques on Stephens including flying knees and spinning back elbows, but the veteran fighter would not go away.

Jones scored a takedown with 35 seconds left in the round to slow Stephens down. Crowd didn’t like it, but MMA is MMA.

Round 3 Jones decided to stop playing with Stephens and went all out on takedowns and ground attacks. Stephens didn’t make it hard to get him to the ground so Jones took what he gave him.

Jones took top position looking for a kimura, but Stephens bought time to recover and got to his feet. Jones got him right back to the ground moments later, and with less than 90 seconds left in the fight Stephens was running out of time.

Fight ended with Jones in mount looking for ground and pound.

Official Result: Mason Jones def. Jeremy Stephens via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3) 

The post Mason Jones Dominates Wrestling Late, Gets Dec Over Stephens appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

The post Jeremy Stephens Says Mason Jones Fight at UFC Des Moines a “Gas Stop” On Way to Bigger Dreams appeared first on Cageside Press.

Months after being “drafted” by the fledgling GFL, Jeremy Stephens has apparently parted ways with that organization and re-signed with the UFC. Stephens (29-21, 1NC) was recently announced by promotion officials as returning to the octagon for UFC Des Moines on May 3, 2025, where he’ll take on Mason Jones.

Jones, like Stephens, is making his return to the company in the fight. For Jeremy Stephens, however, the fight is a homecoming, both in terms of his return to the UFC, and fighting in his birthplace of Des Moines, Iowa.

That makes the signing a little more understandable. Once a fan-favorite in the promotion’s lightweight division, Stephens exited the company in 2021 off a loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He then joined the PFL, going 1-2 across three fights before moving on to boxing and bareknuckle boxing, the latter under the BKFC banner.

While Stephens has three straight wins in BKFC, his last fight in MMA was a 2022 loss in the PFL to Natan Schulte. Still, adding the 38-year old to UFC Des Moines is sure to make the local fans happy. The veteran has shared the cage with the likes of Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, Jose Aldo, Josh Emmett, Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway, Cub Swanson, Renan Barao, and Charles Oliveira, among others.

Mason Jones has spent the last two years competing for Cage Warriors, where he’s won four straight fights.

UFC Des Moines takes place May 5 at the Wells Fargo Arena with the following match-ups reported for the event:

• Cory Sandhagen vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Reinier de Ridder vs. Bo Nickal
• Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Yana Santos vs. Miesha Tate
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Mason Jones
• Marlon Vera vs. Mario Bautista
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Gillian Robertson
• Trevor Peek vs. Lee Jeong-yeong
• Cameron Smotherman vs. Serhiy Sidey
• Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos
• Montel Jackson vs. Daniel Marcos
• Ryan Loder vs. Azamat Bekoev

The post Jeremy Stephens Re-Signs with UFC, Meets Mason Jones in Des Moines appeared first on Cageside Press.

“The Underground King,” whose post-UFC career included a brief stint in ONE Championship, arrived on the bareknuckle scene in 2023, going 1-1 in BKFC with a win over Chad Mendes followed by a loss to Mike Perry for the symbolic “King of Violence” title (basically the BKFC’s take on the UFC’s BMF championship). At 41, Alvarez is well out of his prime, his best years behind him, but fighting at home in Philly against an equally worn Stephens might just produce an entertaining scrap.

As for the co-main event, it’s hard to see heavyweight champ Mick Terrill vs. “Big” Ben Rothwell going the distance. Rothwell, another former UFC star, actually asked for this release from the MMA powerhouse with a fight on the books. He immediately became a player in BKFC, earning three finishes in three fights, most recently against fellow UFC alum Todd Duffee.

Early on in BKFC’s run, “Rowdy” Bec Rawlings, an Ultimate Fighter 20 and UFC alum, earned the nickname “The Queen of Bareknuckle” as she became the promotin’s first female champ winning the Police Gazette Women’s Featherweight World Championship as well as the World Boxing Foundation Latin American championship by BKFC 4 in 2019. After leaving the promotion briefly, she returned, only to come up short in two chances at the BKFC flyweight championship. At BKFC KnuckleMania 5, she’s been paired up with the ever-popular Taylor Starling, a two-time title challenger. If nothing else, the winner jumps back in the win column.

Where to Watch BKFC KnuckleMania 5

Saturday, January 25, 2025 sees BKFC KnuckleMania 5 takes place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. The card airs live on DAZN starting at 8PM ET, 5PM PT. Full results from the event can be found below.

BKFC KnuckleMania 5 Results

Jeremy Stephens def. Eddie Alvarez by TKO (corner stoppage), Round 3, 2:00
Ben Rothwell def. Mick Terrill (c) by KO Round 1, 0:36 – for the BKFC heavyweight championship
Bec Rawlings def. Taylor Starling by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 49-45)
Pat Brady def. Zach Calmus by TKO, Round 1, 0:53
John Garbarino def. Apostle Spencer by KO, Round 1, 0:59
Kaine Tomlinson Jr. def. Pat Sullivan by KO, Round 1, 0:37
Steve Banks def. Joey Dawejko by TKO, Round 3, 1:54
Dustin Pague vs. JD Burns
Brandon Meyer def. Zed Montanez by KO, Round 2, 0:39
Travis Thompson def. Zach Panell by KO, Round 2, 0:41
Phil Caracappa def. Noah Norman by DQ, Round 4, 0:40
Cody Russell def. Logan Tucker by KO, Round 3, 0:49
Itso Babulaidze def. Bryan McDowell by unanimous decision (48-42, 47-43, 48-42)

The post BKFC KnuckleMania 5 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.