Jeremy Stephens will return to his old stomping weight class when he takes on Drakkar Klose in what should be an interesting battle of lightweights. Check out our Stephens-Klose match preview along with the fighters’ respective odds to win in this UFC Fight Night bout below.
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Betting Preview for the Jeremy Stephens vs. Drakkar Klose Lightweight Bout on April 17, 2021
Where: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, NV
When: Saturday, April 17, 2021
Odds: Jeremy Stephens (-137) vs Drakkar Klose (+122)
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on Jeremy Stephens (-137)
MMA Record: 28-18-0
Stephens hasn’t tasted a win in over three years now. Since winning via knockout over Josh Emmett in February of 2018, Stephens has gone winless in five fights. The last time he was inside the Octagon, he suffered a knockout loss at the hands of Calvin Jattar in May of last year. This time, Stephens will look to break his winless streak by moving up to lightweight for the first time since 2012. Needless to say, Stephens is borderline desperate for a win so expect him to throw everything he’s got at Klose this coming Saturday. Even though he’s fighting at a heavier weight class than the one that he’s used to, this is a chance for Stephens to show why some of his best years in the MMA were when he was competing as a lightweight. Stephens has won three Knockout of the Night honors and got featured in six Fight of the Night bouts. He has 19 wins by way of knockouts and has only been knocked out three times in his career.
Betting on Drakkar Klose (+122)
MMA Record: 11-2-1
Klose last fought in March of 2020 when he lost via knockout to Beneil Dariush, which stopped his momentum. He will have a chance to return to his winning ways this Saturday against Stephens. Before his loss to Dariush, Klose had racked up three-straight victories — all via unanimous decisions. That shows that he can win grind-out fights and has the patience and technique to eke out those kinds of victories. In fact, all of his last six fights went the distance. Having said that, it wouldn’t be wise for Stephens to underestimate the power and striking skills of Klose, who won four of his first five pro MMA fights via TKOs. So far in his time in the UFC, Klose is averaging 3.89 significant strikes landed per 15 minutes to go along with a 61.94 significant strikes accuracy percentage. He hasn’t submitted anyone yet, but Klose averages 1.56 takedowns. That part of his game could be key against Stephens, who’s got three submission losses.
Writer’s Prediction
Stephens wins via split decision.
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