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Moving to boxing did not even prove immediately successful for the then-36-year-old, who went 0-1-1 in his two fights in 12 ounce gloves against MMA featherweight GOAT Jose Aldo and Diaz bros compatriot Chris Avila.
Yet when the gloves came off, ‘Lil Heathen’ proved he was built for blood, beating three opponents with nothing to protect his hands, including two former UFC colleagues – former bantamweight contender Jimmie Rivera and former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez – by stoppage.
Now, the former featherweight contender is set to return at the weight class he has primarily competed at for the last four years, 155-lbs, against another past UFC fighter, Welsh former Cage Warriors two-weight champion Mason Jones.
Jones was cut after a difficult, unlucky 1-2 (1 NC) stretch with the promotion despite his own ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate back in 2021 against Mike Davis, but four straight wins – three by knockout – back in Britain earned him a return to UFC in style as the featured bout of the Des Moines card.
The event will be headlined by a bantamweight contender bout between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo, with a middleweight co-main event between college wrestling star Bo Nickal and former ONE Championship double champ Reinier de Ridder, a bout first reported by The Sporting News in February.
Stephens made a splash with his final fight in BKFC, defeating Eddie Alvarez as an underdog, but revealed after the fight that his contract with the bareknuckle boxing promotion had expired, allowing him to cash in on the resurgence in name value in negotiations elsewhere.
Maybe in this stint with the UFC at age 38, the Iowa native will show younger fans why he is tied for second most knockdowns in UFC history, and transcend that infamous viral moment with Conor McGregor from all …
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