Dana White has reacted after a push delivered by Jeremy Stephens to Drakkar Klose resulted in the UFC Vegas 24 co-main event being called off.
Klose and Stephens were expected to collide in a highly anticipated lightweight bout this past Saturday in Nevada. Unfortunately for fight fans, just minutes prior to the commencement of the event, Dana White and promotional officials announced that the scheduled co-headliner had been called off due to an injury suffered by the Michigan native in Klose.
Drakkar Klose would later take to social media where he confirmed that his removal from UFC Vegas 24 was due to the hard push he received from Jeremy Stephens at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins.
“After I was pushed by Jeremy Stephens at UFC Faceoffs, I immediately felt my hand go numb and neck tighten up. Sean Shelby and the UFC officials sent me to the PI to get worked on by the UFC PT staff for 2 hours. I spent the night eating, rehydrating, stretching and even saw the PT staff later that night.”
Drakkar Klose continued:
“I woke up early this morning with a migrane / headache, nausea and the only thing that made me feel better was laying in the dark. Dana White and the UFC got me medicine and I rested for a couple hours before getting up and vomiting. It was at that point we called the UFC doctor and he made the decision to send me to the hospital. I’m sorry to everyone who was excited for this fight , I tried to do everything I could to stay in this fight, but these issues are out of my control.”
While Jeremy Stephens has yet to publicly address the situation, UFC President Dana White recently shared his thoughts on the matter during an interview with TSN‘s Aaron Bronsteter.
Dana White on the incident between Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose at the weigh-in face offs that resulted in Klose getting injured and the co-main event fight getting called off.
Full interview: https://t.co/9rcRV2MYRe pic.twitter.com/sNeeo7jV8X
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) April 20, 2021
“I mean there is a rule. I mean that is why were there, Sean Shelby missed that one.” White told Bronsteter when asked if a new rule should be implemented preventing fighters from getting physical at weigh-ins. “Sean Shelby, you know. Sean and I see the thing differently. I saw it on social media and called him immediately. I was at my daughters, I was in Orlando at the ESPN cheerleading competition. I saw the thing happen on social media and I called Sean and was like ‘Dude, where was your head on that one?’”
Dana White continued:
“You know, he was coming in hot, and it is Jeremy Stephens, he’s just a savage. I mean, yeah we’re not standing there to look good and take pictures. We are there to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
What do you think of the comments from Dana White regarding the push from Jeremy Stephens at Friday’s weigh-ins which injured and forced Drakkar Klose out of their scheduled fight? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!