Before he looked himself the hardest heating weight of the UFC, Jeremy Stephens illuminated a champion in the weight class above.
In what was one of the most unexpected UFC signing sessions in recent memory, 'Lil Heathen' Jeremy Stephens returned to fighting for premier promotion.
The 34-Fight UFC veteran and top-5 power puncher ink an unheard of contract with a fight with the UFC where this weekend he is going in a lightweight battle at UFC des Moines in his hometown.
Stephens was released from the UFC in 2021 for a whole series of 5 losses, one no-contest and a violent push on the weightings, causing his opponent to return because of whiplash. Since then, the 38-year-old has reconstructed himself again with three consecutive victories in the BKFC where he broke the jaw of Eddie Alvarez in January.
Alvarez is one of the two UFC light weight champions Stephens has dismantled with the Iowa-Native scoring an all-time scoring with a great Uppercut Knock-out on the other more than 15 years ago.
Photo by: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
A 22-year-old Jeremy Stephens Ko'ed Rafael Dos Anjos
Before Stephens was on the CUSP of a UFC title shot at 145LBS, Stephens made the lightweight division destroyed from a young age.
In 2008, a 22-year-old Stephens met a future champion in Rafael Dos Anjos, his eldest for two years. Stephens vs. DOS Anjos took place at UFC 91, the same night Brock Lesnar Randy Couture defeated the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
The DOS Anjos of Brazil controlled Stephens on the ground for a decent part of the first two rounds with four Takedowns. Round 3 would all be Stephens who continued to walk ahead and tried to find his kill-shot.
35 seconds in the round, Stephens followed a right hand by unloading a piston -like uppercut that connected the right to the chin of DOS Anjos. RDA went to the canvas with Stephens who lay cold with soil and pound strikes before the referee stopped the fight. (3:27 in the video below)
Stephens ran straight into the cage and bounced it while he was probably the most memorable knockout of his career.
Jeremy Stephens has earned half a million dollars in UFC bonuses
The ruthless Uppercut Ko from Rafael Dos Anjos, seven years before the Brazilian won the UFC title, Stephens' was the first of many $ 50k bonuses in the Octagon.
After spoiling the UFC debut of RDA, Stephens took 3 'performance of the night' bonussen and 6 for 'Fight of the Night'.
For many years, Stephens has cashed in $ 500,000 in performance bonuses by fighting the best in the world.
Inside and from the Octagon, 'Lil Heathen' has fought a multiple of former champions, including: Jose Aldo (twice), Max Holloway, Frankie Edgar, Eddie Alvarez, Rafael Dos Anjos, Renan Barao, Anthony Pettis and Yair Rodriguez.