LAS VEGAS – Though his nickname is “Lil’ Heathen,” Jeremy Stephens is actually quite a religious fellow. Before every fight the Iowan prays that both he and his opponent will emerge from the scrap without serious injury. As a fight draws nearer, Stephens listens to an iPod in a backstage dressing room, confident the rap and reggae tracks will help him summon his butt-kicking alter ego.
“I dance around the room a little bit, joke around, stretch, relax and just visualize the victory, man,” Stephens said. “I visualize how pumped I’m going to feel after I KO my opponent and look out and see all of the crowd just going nuts. Then I see myself look over to Dana and tell him ‘Thank you.’”
For fantasy to become reality, the 22-year-old Stephens must find a way to outclass Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rafael dos Anjos on Saturday night. Except for one appearance in Japan, dos Anjos has fought his entire career in his native Brazil. He is 11-2 (with six submissions), has won nine straight and has never been knocked out or submitted. Yet Stephens (15-3 overall, 2-2 in the UFC), is determined to give the Brazilian a rude welcome in his UFC debut.
“I think he’s a game fighter,” said Stephens, who, like a lot of fighters, researched and studied dos Anjos’ fighting style over the Internet using YouTube and Google. “I think he’s going to come in and try to work his game, which is jiu-jitsu. But I think my pace is a lot faster and stronger. I think I’m just as advanced as him, especially in the whole MMA game. With my strikes, hopefully I’m going to stop his takedowns and bust him up on the feet. I’m going to come out and drop a lot of punches and disrupt his game. I’m looking for the knockout, brother. I’m in really great shape and ready to throw bombs for the entire fight.”
During his previous fight, Stephens surprised a lot of people by holding his own against UFC standout Spencer Fisher on their feet. Fisher was able to distinguish himself and win a unanimous decision largely on the strength of his ability to take Stephens down and control him on the ground. Eager to elevate his takedown defense and his ground skills, Stephens – who trains at the Miletich Fighting Systems headquarters in Iowa – has become more of a nomad. He has supplemented his training by venturing to the West Coast and training with Hermes Franca, Diego Sanchez and Dean Lister, among others.
“I’ve been working on my wrestling,” said Stephens, who has won nine of his matches by knockout or TKO. “But even if I do get taken down, I’m going to get up and beat him up. I’m not in there to play games -- I’m in there to show people that I’m a top fighter and I’m on my way back.”
Aside from shaking up his training regimen, Stephens is also expecting another big change in the near future: His girlfriend is pregnant. The child’s birth is expected sometime next May. Suddenly, Stephens doesn’t feel he’s just fighting for himself any more, he feels that he’s fighting to support his family. And he is determined to give his child a better upbringing than his own.
“My parents had their difficulties, there were a lot of problems in the household,” Stephens said. “After my parents divorced, my Dad went his own way. My mom took care of me, but she was struggling through a drug problem which she still struggles with today. I went to like 14 different elementary schools. I was fighting and had a hard time fitting in. We went from living in a home to living in a shelter, to living in a car with a garbage bag full of clothes. My mom was clearly sick. You just find yourself getting closer to God and asking him a lot of questions. I wasn’t able to understand what was going on. Every night I would be sitting in the car with my mom staring out the window sleeping and cold. I was just praying, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ But it made me tougher mentally and closer to God. He truly works through me. My life has been a lot better since then. I have been blessed.”
The turning point in Stephens’ life came when his father regained custody of him, enabling Stephens to attend what he termed a “good” public school just outside of Des Moines. Stephens’ mother had called him ‘Lil Heathen’ because of her son’s wild and rambunctious ways. A coach at the high school saw great potential in the boy. The coach took a liking to Stephens and inspired the teen to focus on athletics and stay out of trouble. Stephens wrestled but concedes he wasn’t a superstar in high school. But he believes he does have the goods to excel in the UFC.
“I sat down awhile back and I wrote down my five and 10-year goals,” Stephens said. “Within the next five years I want to get a title shot and become world champion. I want to keep performing for the UFC and just keep fighting the best guys. Eventually when it’s all done I want to just have a gym and be with my family. I’m a big family person. Wealth is not having money, having cars. Wealth is being happy with what you’ve got, wealth is having joy with your family and having peace. I want to keep a positive (gym environment) for other kids who can learn from me. There are a lot of great values in MMA, things that people don’t always see, that could help a lot of disadvantaged kids. I would like to be a part of that. I’d definitely like to be a part of that.”
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