The UFC Fight Night co-main event between Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose in Las Vegas was cancelled on Saturday due to a weigh-in push.
Klose says he sustained injuries following opponent Stephens’ push on him during Friday’s weigh-in.
The 33-year-old said he felt his hand go numb and his neck tighten up immediately after being forcefully shoved on stage during the ceremonial face-off and woke up with a headache and nausea on Saturday morning before checking into a hospital.
Klose’s CT scan results revealed he had suffered a cervical sprain of the neck and concussion, although UFC said the lightweight bout was off without providing details of Klose’s injury during their broadcast.
“I’m sorry to everyone who was excited for this fight,” Klose said in a tweet. “I tried to do everything I could to stay in this fight but these issues are out of my control.”
Stephens said in an Instagram post that he pushed Klose for getting too close to him “with aggressive behaviour” during the weigh-in.
Stephens gave Klose a powerful two-handed shove, surprising his opponent
“I just have zero tolerance for that type of disrespect,” he said.
Klose most recently fought in March 2020 at UFC 248, where he suffered a knockout loss to Beneil Dariush but has won three of his last four bouts.
Meanwhile, Stephens was set to return to the lightweight division after a seven-year stint as a featherweight and is winless in his past five fights.
