Jeremy Stephens is a slight favorite against Drakkar Klose at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum on Saturday, April 17 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is one of six fights on the main card on ESPN. Klose comes into this fight with a record of 11-2-1, while Stephens is 28-18. There are a total of six fights on the main card on UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum, with the headliner a bout between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. There are also a total of seven fights on the preliminary card on ESPN. Let's look at the bout between Klose and Stephens and UFC predictions.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum Betting
Drakkar Klose (11-2-1, 5-2 UFC)
Klose came into the UFC with a record of 6-0-1 and he is 5-2 in the UFC. He was knocked out last time out by Beneil Dariush in March of 2020. He previously won by unanimous decision against Christos Giagos in August of 2019, won a unanimous decision against Bobby Green in December of 2018, won a unanimous decision against Lando Vannata in July of 2018 and lost a unanimous decision to David Teymur in December of 2017. Klose has been a pro since 2014 and he has four wins by knockout. He has two first round finishes.
Jeremy Stephens (28-18, 15-17 UFC)
Stephens came into the UFC with a record of 13-1 and he has gone 15-17 in the UFC. It has not gone well for Stephens lately, as he has four losses and a no contest in his last five fights. He was knocked out by Calvin Kattar in May of last year, lost a unanimous decision to Yair Rodriguez in October of 2019, fought a no contest against Yair Rodriguez in September of 2019, lost a unanimous decision against Zabit Magomedsharipov in March of 2019 and lost by TKO to Jose Aldo in July of 2018. The last win for Stephens came in 2018 when he knocked out Josh Emmett. Stephens has been a pro since 2005. He has 19 wins by TKO/KO and two by submission. He has 13 first round finishes.
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Klose 3.89/ Stephens 3.18
Striking Accuracy: Klose 53% / Stephens 40%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Klose 3.64/ Stephens 3.06
Defense: Klose 53% / Stephens 58%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Klose 1.56/ Stephens 1.16
Takedown Accuracy: Klose 30% / Stephens 38%
Takedowns defended: Klose 68% / Stephens 65%
Submission average: Klose 0.0/ Stephens 0.4
UFC Picks
I am surprised that Stephens is listed as the favorite in this fight. He has not won any of his last five fights and Klose is 3-1 in his last four and easily could be 4-0, as he nearly finished Dariush. I think this fight will be close, but I think at this point in their careers that Klose is the better fighter. I will take Klose to get the win and also play the rounds to go over the total.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum Card & Odds
Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum +207 vs. Robert Whittaker -255
Middleweight: Bartosz Fabinski -132 vs. Gerald Meerschaert +108
Heavyweight: Juan Espino +103 vs. Alexander Romanov -127
Lightweight: Drakkar Klose +103 vs. Jeremy Stephens -127
Women's Flyweight: Justine Kish +200 vs. Tracy Cortez -245
Lightweight: Luis Peña -142 vs. Alexander Munoz +118
Bantamweight: Tony Gravely -342 vs. Anthony Birchak +270
Women's Strawweight: Jessica Penne +238 vs. Lupita Godinez -298
Featherweight: Bill Algeo -122 vs. Ricardo Ramos -102
Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun +228 vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan -284
Women's Bantamweight: Zarah Fairn Dos Santos +108 vs. Josiane Nunes -132
Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski -137 vs. Chase Sherman +113
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