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The fighter recently announced the planned change of divisions onTwitter, and MMAjunkie.com(www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed news of the switch with Stephens’ manager, Ryan Hass.
Hass said the plan is for Stephens to do a test cut to 145 in January after helping wrap Alliance MMA teammate Myles Jury’s prep for next week’s UFC 155 bout against Michael Johnson.
“It shouldn’t be a problem and (we’re) looking for a fight by March,” Hass said. “His last couple fights have been on short notice, so he’s looking to get a full camp with a nutritionist and tweak his training to bring up his speed, but not lose any muscle or power. He’ll be a contender at 145 quick. He likes 155 and it was never his idea to drop, but after consideration, he’s pumped about it.”
The last time “Lil’ Heathen” had his hand raised was a unanimous decision win over Danny Downes at the TUF 13 Finale. Before that, he picked up a thrilling “Knockout of the Night” win over Marcus Davis at UFC 125. That was his fourth career bonus win in the UFC and third for best knockout.
Stephens becomes the latest in a long line of notable fighters to drop from lightweight to try the waters in the UFC’s featherweight division, including former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, Dennis Siver, TUF winner Ross Pearson, Kenny Florian and Darren Elkins.
UFC lightweight Jeremy StephensJeremy Stephens is a success story. Not just in the UFC, where he is preparing to make his 15th Octagon appearance Dec. 8th against Yves Edwards, but in life. Yes, that’s a bold and broad statement to make, but when you look at where the Iowa native has been and where he could have gone, there’s no other conclusion you can make than to say that he made it.
And it was his grandfather who knew it all along.
“He actually got me watching UFC before it all started,” said Stephens of his late grandfather. To this day, the lightweight veteran keeps a picture of the two together, fists raised, on his bedpost.
“When I graduated, he’s looking right at me and we’re both holding up fists. I’m looking at the camera smiling and he’s looking right at me, and I remember him always telling me that I’d be in the UFC and that I had a special gift in fighting.”
He did. Blessed with heavy hands and a knockout artist’s mentality, Stephens tore things up on the local Midwest circuit, but as he told me early in his career, he was “crazier and probably prison-bound,” before fighting intervened. And having his grandfather’s blessing only pushed him harder.
“I always excited people with my fights in small town Iowa,” he said. “I always liked to swing for the fences and I had some wrestling skills to go along with it. Growing up, I didn’t think at first that I would make it this far, and it was a long shot of a goal, but as I continued to grow and see people support me and buy my t-shirts and be behind me, I ended up believing in myself and carrying through with what my grandpa first saw and believed in me.”
Continue reading “GRANDPA KNEW BEST – THE RISE OF JEREMY STEPHENS”
If at first you don’t succeed…
Following the cancellation of their bout in October, Jeremy Stephens and Yves Edwards will get the chance to mix it up after all.
The two lightweights have agreed to meet at UFC on Fox 5 on Dec 8 after Edwards original opponent John Cholish was forced off the card for undisclosed reasons.
Stephens and Edwards were scheduled to face off in October, but an old outstanding warrant came to light early morning on fight day with authorities taking Stephens into custody.Stephens steps in to replace him and face Edwards on the upcoming show in Seattle according to the fighter’s manager at EVO Agents as confirmed toMMAWeekly.com on Friday.
Stephens was arrested and despite the best efforts of UFC President Dana White to get the fighter released in time to compete, the authorities between Minnesota and Iowa, where the warrant originated from, didn’t set bail in time and the fight eventually had to be cancelled.
Days later Stephens was finally released and allowed to travel back to San Diego while waiting the chance to defend himself against the assault charges pending in his home state of Iowa.
Until then however, Stephens will get the chance to redeem himself in the Octagon with the fight he was supposed to have back in October.
Stephens faces Yves Edwards in a bout between two strikers both looking to etch another victory on their UFC resumes.
