Jeremy Stephens is returning to the UFC for what looks to be a fire fight on paper and someone who previously beat Stephens in the PFL broke down the next MMA contest that ‘Lil Heathen’ has lined up. The combatant in question is Natan Schulte who recently fell short to Jakub Kaszuba via unanimous decision in his return from a lengthy competitive hiatus at PFL Pittsburgh on March 28th.
The former multi-time PFL champ previously secured an arm triangle choke against Jeremy Stephens in the PFL smart cage during their contest in November 2022. The MMA and bare knuckle star is now preparing to fight King Green pretty soon at UFC 328 on May 9th. When offering up his thoughts on that Stephens versus Green fight, Schulte said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“I saw and I saw this match like King Green against Jeremy Stephens. Jeremy, he’s a tough guy. King Bobby Green, he’s a good fighter, too. But I think for the fans, [they’re] going to be like excited to [see the fight]. Exciting fight, you know. Like excited to watch because both guys, they don’t care. They don’t, they don’t care about nothing. They just want to like a punch punchy, you know, and they not like a boring fights, you know. This guy [Jeremy Stephens] is good. I like, I like both.”
Jeremy Stephens asked Dana White himself for this UFC return effort in Q2 of 2026
Jeremy Stephens is back in the UFC and the promotional stalwart had Dana White involved in getting him back into the Octagon for this looming New Jersey event. The UFC 328 main card opening slot is a coveted one and Stephens’ recent fighting efforts have been intriguing over the last few years overall.
After an initial UFC departure circa 2022, ‘Lil Heathen’ fought in the PFL and also carved out a successful BKFC run. While mostly pursuing bare knuckle fighting in recent times, Stephens took what seemed to be a one-off return fight in his hometown at UFC Des Moines that saw him fall short to Mason Jones.
On The Ariel Helwani Show, Stephens mentioned that he took the UFC Des Moines fight on a few weeks notice and had spent the last few years specifically focusing on refining his bare knuckle game during a conversation with Dana White. Stephens quipped during that call with White that he would love another opportunity to better show out in an MMA context and now the fighter long called “Dana’s Guy” will get another contracted UFC bout.