Drakkar Klose is excited to get into a fight this weekend, finally.
Klose will return to action this Saturday at UFC 241 to face Christos Giagos. The event will take place at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. and the lightweight bout is scheduled for the
The 31-year-old was originally scheduled to face Beneil Dariush at UFC Sacramento last month but the bout was scrapped days before the fight due after Dariush suffered an injury. It has been quite the road as of late for Klose, from becoming a father, switching gyms from The MMA Lab to Fight Ready MMA, losing a fight and gaining another one.
Despite the rocky road, Klose feels like it all worked out for the best.
“It sucked,” Klose told The Body Lock in regards to losing the fight with Dariush. “So much time, so much money was put into that camp and not being able to fight against Dariush… I’m not gonna lie, I shed a couple of tears just out of anger. I signed that contract, I showed up and he didn’t and it just sucked leaving with nothing. I’m just glad I can fight at UFC 241. I think it’s a blessing, believe it or not. I left my old gym, I’m at a new gym and it was an emotional rollercoaster. But it gave me more time to be with my new coaches.
“Now I’m on a big card and there’s going to be lots of eyes watching. I think it’s a step back in competition, but that’s what I like about fighting. Anyone can win a fight. Dariush gave me a better chance to get into that top-15 and, I don’t even know the guy’s name, Christos? He’s 2-1 in the UFC, and I know he’s going to bring it. He brings it in all of his fights and you can never count a man out. We’re going to see who the better man is on Aug. 17.”
Klose will look to extend his winning streak to three fights on Saturday night after picking up victories over Lando Vannata and Bobby Green. After going through a tough training camp to prepare for Dariush and ramping back up for a new opponent, Klose is ready to continue his winning ways in Anaheim.
“I think it’s an awesome matchup, especially to get that bonus,” Klose said. “He’s gonna bring it, I’m gonna bring it.
“Not really much changed (in preparation). I gave myself a couple of days to get my weight back up. Two days before the fight (with Dariush), I was around 170. Those next two days, I ate as much as I could, got back up to 185. I just had to get the weight back down. I feel great.”
Giagos will also bring back-to-back wins into the fight on Saturday. The California native picked up unanimous decision wins over Mizuto Hirota and, most recently, Damir Hadzovic at UFC at June’s UFC on
“I see myself victorious,” Klose explained. “I think I’m going to beat him in every aspect of the fight. People say he has great standup, I’ve fought some of the best who had great standup and I thought that I outstruck him. They say he’s a good wrestler, we’re going to find out if he’s really that good. I know his cardio is not that good. He brings it in the first and then he dies out. I don’t die out. I don’t think he can hang with me.”
