“I’m not going to sit here and lie,” he admits. “I always wanted to chase the belt, but it just feels like it’s not in my cards. So, for me right now, I want to go out, try to make as much money as I can for my family, and when it’s my time, walk away on top, hopefully with a great record and still having my brain cells intact.”
For most, that might be a tough conversation to have. It wasn’t for Klose, one of the sport’s class acts.
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“I always had a lot of regrets in wrestling,” he said. “Like, man, I wish I’d have done this. And then I found MMA and I was able to put all those, ‘oh, I wish I would’ve done this’ things and apply that to my MMA career. So put everything into it, and when it is time for me to walk away, I won’t have those ‘I wish I would’ve done this,’ thoughts.”
He shouldn’t, because more than eight years on the UFC roster, with nine wins and counting, isn’t anything to scoff at. And he’s still going, so the best may be yet to come.
“I’ve lived with a lot of injuries along the road, but I grew as a person and that’s all life is about,” said Klose of his run in the big show. “If you don’t grow, why are you living? I still have friends who are like, ‘Oh, you changed.’ I’m like, yes, I changed. That’s what you’re supposed to do in life. If you’re the same person you were from day one, you didn’t learn anything in life.”
