Himself never far from controversy, Jeremy Stephens saw one of his best ageing victories in the UFC come under massive fire.
Departing the Octagon after a brief return against Mason Jones earlier this year in his native Iowa, veteran featherweight staple Jeremy Stephens will return to headline a BKFC event in New Jersey, taking on fellow UFC veteran Mike Perry.
However, before his initial exit from the Octagon leader, Stephens enjoyed a stunning winning spree spanning three fights, including a win over a lightweight staple.
But before running into Jose Aldo, the heavy-hitting Stephens would take out a monstrous puncher who returns at UFC 320 this weekend.
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Jeremy Stephens’ big knockout of Josh Emmett in Florida
Fresh from his pair of notable wins over Gilbert Melendez and Doo-Ho Choi, Stephens was pitted against knockout expert Josh Emmett in a massive main event bracket in 2018.
Fast approaching title contention for the first time in his storied career, Stephens would hand Emmett his first defeat since his move to featherweight.
Clocking the incoming Emmett with a check left hook, Stephens would immediately assume top position during the second round scramble, landing a slew of elbows which landed on the back of Emmett’s head — before throwing a knee to the grounded contender.
Clipping Emmett with the prohibited strike, Stephens eventually sent the former out cold with a massive pair of ground elbows to score his biggest win to date.
But despite this watershed win for Stephens, he came under major fire almost immediately, having landed his fair share of illegal blows during the exchange — under the watchful eye of Dan Miragliotta, no less.
The win sidelined Emmett for eleven months, too, with the future interim featherweight title challenger suffering from multiple facial fractures after the knockout.
Jeremy Stephens vows to ‘big brother’ Mike Perry at BKFC Newark
Failing to fight beyond the lightweight limit during his Octagon tenure, Stephens may be the smaller combatant when paired with career-welterweight Perry this weekend; however, he’s is not concerned.
And when pitted against the King of Violence titleholder Perry, Stephens has promised to “big brother” the Michigan favorite in a quite confident prediction.
“I feel like I’m the big brother,” Stephens told Sports Illustrated. “I’m smarter, I’m faster, I’m defensively sound. I can see it all. I’m willing to go to the pain game and above and beyond just as well as him (Mike Perry).”