There have been many turning points in veteran UFC featherweight Jeremy Stephens’ career, but the most powerful one happened long before he strapped on MMA gloves.

Stephens (28-15 MMA, 15-14 UFC) remembers living in a car with his mom, an addict who’d divorced his father. They lived in a car in his native Des Moines, Iowa.

“I particularly remember this night where I was staring at the moon, like, ‘Why me?'” Stephens told MMAjunkie Radio this week. “‘Why am I going through this? Why am I living like this? Why are my parents split up? Why is my mom an addict?’

“Now today, I look back and I go, ‘Why not me, mother(expletive)?’ Why not me? Look at everything I’ve been through. I’ve accomplished so much.”

Stephens, 32, is tied with Donald Cerrone for the second most UFC appearances at 30. He’s knocked out nine opponents in the octagon, some in spectacular fashion.

“I’ve put grown men on the canvas, basically painted them on the canvas,” Stephens said. “I’ve done spectacular things in my life. I realize this is my purpose. I was born for this.”

Stephens also has lost more fights (14) and more decisions (10) than anyone in the promotion. Yet there’s no sense that his job is ever in danger.

Why? He’s pure entertainment, whether he wins or loses.

Stephens is proud of the fact that he’s a self-built man. After being bullied growing up, he found fighting and excelled with the help of longtime training partner and friend Josh Neer. He moved across the country to work with some of the West Coast’s best talent, including Dominick Cruz. He always did what needed to be done to evolve.

There have been many ups and downs along the way. But one thing hasn’t changed in his mentality.

“I’m a mean, tough mother(expletive),” Stephens said. “You cannot break me. I’m unbreakable. I’ll keep coming back and back and back, and I won’t stop until I’m long gone and dead.”

Stephens cites his most recent four fights as proof of his resiliency.

“I’ve broken three of the last four guys I’ve fought – they’re not even fighting on the roster,” Stephens said. “I’m talking about Gilbert (Melendez), his leg is still in Canada. (Doo Hoo) Choi, he’s pushing papers in the army; he doesn’t even want to fight anymore. (Josh) Emmett, he’s nowhere to be heard.

“The last fight with (Jose) Aldo, all I did was collect a bunch of data of what needed to be fixed. I’ve been able to work with that data, and I can’t wait for March 2.”

At UFC 235, Stephens will take on Zabit Magomedsharipov (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the ESPN-televised prelims at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He’s a +200 underdog to stop the red-hot Russian prospect, and he couldn’t be any more confident that Saturday will be his moment.

“I get another opportunity to go in there and take a young, hungry kid out,” Stephens said. “ESPN, I get to reach a new crowd and show people my skills, and I get to put this guy’s lights out, derail another hype train. Seems like it’s my favorite thing to do these days.”

When Stephens looks back at the moments that got him here, it’s to reaffirm how far he’s come since he was a young kid with a tough road ahead. Mostly, though, he looks at what he’s going to accomplish in the future.

“People always ask me, what’s your favorite knockout? And I’m like, ‘My next one,'” he said. “I don’t really dwell in the past. I’m not the same man as I was last week. Just from Monday to Wednesday, I’ve already put six different sessions of training. So it’s constant evolution and adaption.”

For more on UFC 235, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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