Fight week for UFC 319 has been one of the most eventful roads to an event in 2025.
King Green revealed severe injuries that had cancelled his fight on the card, but his absence from the Octagon’s return to Chicago was just the beginning.
Fortunately for fans, the biggest fights and the entire main card has stayed intact, but three fights in total have fallen off throughout the week.
Bryan Battle apologized to Nursulton Ruziboev after his second consecutive weight miss led to their bout being cancelled, with one of the two ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ finals also being cut.
One fighter that is still scheduled to make the walk in a matter of hours knows what this feels like having had to withdraw from a big matchup due to incredibly bizarre circumstances.
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Drakkar Klose withdrew from his fight with Jeremy Stephens after a push caused severe injuries
In April of 2017, Robert Whittaker was set to face Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of a Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Drakkar Klose was set to compete in the co-main event where he was to take on UFC veteran Jeremy Stephens in an exciting lightweight matchup.
When they came face-to-face at the weigh-ins the day before the fight, both men got in each other’s faces before Stephens pushed his opponent, casuing him to stumble back.
It was reported shortly after that the fight was cancelled, with it later being revealed by Klose’s team that he had suffered several injuries as a result of the push, including a cervical sprain of the neck and a concussion.
Dana White was asked about this during an interview with TSN several days after the event, where he didn’t blame Stephens for the fight being cancelled.
White said that with Stephens’ intensity, UFC matchmaker Sean Selby, who was standing in for White in being between the fighters at the face offs, needed to act.
“Sean Shelby missed that one. Sean Shelby, you know, Sean and I see the thing differently,” White said. “I saw it on social media and called him immediately. I was at my daughter’s … I was in Orlando at the ESPN cheerleading competition. I saw the thing happen on social media and I called Sean and was like, ‘Dude, where was your head on that one?'”
It was reported that following his injuries, Klose was still paid his show money and compliance pay after fulfilling his fight week responsibilities.
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Drakkar Klose returns to face Edson Barboza at UFC 319
Following the injuries he suffered from Jeremy Stephens’ push, Drakkar Klose did not return to the Octagon for a full year.
When he did, he made up for lost time by putting together a four-fight win streak that included a devastating slam knockout over Joe Solecki.
His win streak came to an end last time out where he was stopped by Joel Alvarez but at UFC 319, he has the opportunity to regain some serious momentum.
Later today, he will welcome elite striker Edson Barboza back to the lightweight division in what promises to be an exciting fight between two UFC veterans.