Jeremy Stephens

Overview

Eight knockouts, zero submission wins, and thirteen decision losses. Jeremy Stephens's UFC career reads like a power puncher who spent two decades running into opponents who could go the distance with him.

"Lil' Heathen" is a Lightweight out of Des Moines, Iowa, who trains with Alliance MMA - Chula Vista. His UFC record is 15-20 with one no contest, and he carries a seven-fight losing streak into his next fight. His debut came in 2007, so the sample is big.

UFC Career

Stephens debuted at UFC 71 in May 2007 and lost by submission to Din Thomas in the second round. He answered with a unanimous decision over Diego Saraiva and a second-round knockout of Cole Miller in early 2008.

The first decade was a seesaw. Rafael Dos Anjos was stopped in the third round at UFC 91, and Melvin Guillard, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone all beat him on the cards, two of those by split decision. His longest win streak is three, and it came more than once-ish across the run: Estevan Payan, Rony Jason and Darren Elkins in 2013 and 2014 got him there.

He headlined against Cub Swanson in a five-round fight in 2014 and lost a unanimous decision. In 2015 and 2016 he faced two opponents our model rates as elite, Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar, and lost both on the scorecards.

His best stretch came in early 2018. Back-to-back main events produced second-round knockouts of Dooho Choi and Josh Emmett, the latter a strong opponent. Then Jose Aldo stopped him in the first round, and Zabit Magomedsharipov beat him by decision.

His September 2019 main event with Yair Rodriguez ended in a no contest at 0:15 of round one. The rematch a month later went to Rodriguez by unanimous decision.

Since then it has been a long slide: Calvin Kattar by second-round TKO, Mateusz Gamrot by first-round submission, then decision and submission losses to Mason Jones and King Green.

Seven straight losses is the story of the last chapter.

Fighting Style

Jeremy Stephens lands strikes at a pace close to the UFC average, but he is hard to hit. He takes less punishment than most and defends well on the feet. His accuracy is on the low side, so his offense is not especially efficient.

He is not a grappler. He rarely shoots for takedowns and doesn't hunt submissions, though he is tougher to take down than most. That defense has not always held up, as four of his losses came by submission.

All eight of his UFC finishes are knockouts or TKOs. Six came in the second or third round, and only two in the first. When the knockout doesn't arrive, he usually loses a decision, which is how 13 of his losses ended.

Notable Wins

• Rafael Dos Anjos — KO/TKO, round 3 (0:39), UFC 91 (2008)
• Josh Emmett — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Stephens (2018)
• Renan Barao — unanimous decision, UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs Garbrandt (2016)
• Dennis Bermudez — KO/TKO, round 3 (0:32), UFC 189 (2015)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 15-20 (1 NC)
• Professional record, all promotions: 29-23-0 (1 NC)
• UFC debut: 2007
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'9" / 71"
• Team: Alliance MMA - Chula Vista
• Born: Des Moines, IA, United States