When he was eight years old, Stephens parents divorced and he constantly switched between schools while also living in various apartments, shelters, and even in his mother's car before moving to Norwalk, Iowa, with his father, who was granted custody of Stephens when he was in the fifth grade.

While beginning his career in mixed martial arts, Stephens looked up to and later became friends with fellow Des Moines native Josh Neer.

Jeremy then scored his second win inside the Octagon after beating Cole Miller via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 12.

He was out-grappled the first two rounds but in the third came out swinging and landed a huge uppercut on dos Anjos that knocked him unconscious.

[6] Stephens next stepped in as a late replacement for Hermes Franca against Joe Lauzon on February 7, 2009, at UFC Fight Night 17.

[7] Stephens was expected to face Nik Lentz on January 11, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 20.

[11] Stephens was expected to face Jonathan Brookins on June 4, 2011, at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.

Stephens replaced an injured Yves Edwards against Donald Cerrone on May 15, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier[15] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

[16] However, the bout was cancelled due to Stephens being arrested on the day of the event for an assault charge that dates back to 2011.

Stephens made his Featherweight debut against promotional newcomer Estevan Payan on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160.

Stephens was expected to face Rony Jason on October 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 29.

[27] He won the fight by TKO due to a flying knee and punches after a close first two rounds.

[56] However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed[57] and the bout eventually took place on May 9, 2020.

[60] Stephens was scheduled to face Arnold Allen on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs.

[62] Stephens was expected to return to the lightweight division for the first one since 2012 to face Drakkar Klose at UFC on ESPN 22.

[63] However, day of the event, it was announced that the bout was scrapped due to Klose sustaining a spinal injury as a result of being shoved by Stephens at the weigh-ins.

[67] After his contract was not renewed by the UFC, Stephens signed with PFL for the 2022 season to compete in their Lightweight division.

[75] On April 1, 2023, Stephens made his professional boxing debut against Brazilian mixed martial artist José Aldo on the undercard of Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anthony Pettis at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wilwaukee.

[76] On June 21, 2023, it was announced that Stephens would face American mixed martial artist Chris Avila on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz at the American Airlines Center in Dallas,Texas.

[79] Stephens faced Jimmie Rivera on December 2, 2023, at BKFC 56 and won by TKO due to doctor stoppage.

[84] Stephens faced Eddie Alvarez at BKFC Knucklemania 5 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA on January 25, 2025.

[85] Stephens scored two knockdowns and won the fight via third-round TKO, as Alvarez was not able to return for the fourth round.

[89] Stephens has spoken about how self-doubt has affected his life and how his failures have led to suicidal thoughts in the past.

Stephens was charged with felony assault and burglary, stemming from an incident that took place in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2011.

Most of the charges, however, were eventually dropped, and Stephens pled guilty to one count of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.