It’s clear that Jeremy Stephens is ready to fight.
In his last bout, Stephens fell short to Frankie Edgar at UFC 205 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. “Lil’ Heathen” rocked “The Answer” in the second stanza with a head kick. Stephens told Flo Combat that he regrets not moving in for the finish:
“All I needed to do is land one more clean shot, but I fu*ked up by crowding him and allowing him to grab me and take away the space I needed. So the fact is, I should have had a finish in that fight and didn’t. I’m not OK with that, and I am looking forward to taking it out in my next fight.”
Despite the loss, Stephens still finds himself in a good spot in the rankings. He is currently ranked No. 5 in the featherweight division. His big win over former bantamweight title holder Renan Barao back in May 2016 certainly helped him maintain a healthy spot.
The 38-fight veteran isn’t satisfied with sitting idly. Stephens has sent out challenges to many fighters including Gilbert Melendez and more recently Chan Sung Jung. His efforts appear to be falling on deaf ears.
“The media is big on [saying] ‘The best way to get the fight you want is by calling them out.’ From the last UFC Expo to now, I have called out a lot of the top fighters to their face. The veteran savages that are usually down to fight anyone that I haven’t seen in person, I’ve called a few of them out on social media. I literally have called out the whole damn roster and even offered to go up to 155 to get a tough fight. I took it as far as calling any and every 145 [and] 155 fighter willing to step up. I’ve heard nothing but crickets.”