Jeremy Stephens breaks silence on failed UFC homecoming, looks to the future
As we’ve covered, the fight with Jones didn’t go the way Stephen planned. Instead, he suffered a pretty clear unanimous decision loss to the Welshman, who was also making a UFC return.
The loss doesn’t seem to have dampened Stephens’ spirits at all. Several days after the event in Des Moines, he took to Instagram to express his gratitude for his hometown fans, and look to the future.
“Another sold out Wells Fargo Centre,” Stephens wrote. “That’s number two for this year. First it was BKFC, UFC. After four years away from the UFC and eight weeks to prepare I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give my hometown Des Moines, Iowa a show.
“Y’all showed up and showed out and I’m forever grateful,” he added. “Just know, we ain’t done.”
Heading into the card in Des Moines, Stephens made it clear he had only signed a one-fight contract with the UFC — an extremely unusual deal that reflects the promotion’s respect for him. It is not clear if he will be invited back after his loss. However, BKFC will surely be happy to welcome him back. While he has never won a major title in MMA, he scored some very impressive wins. Highlights of his resume include defeats of Rafael dos Anjos, Darren Elkins, Gilbert Melendez, Doo Ho Choi, and Josh Emmett. He is a huge asset for the bare-knuckle promotion, especially if they can set up a fight with “Platinum” Perry.
