Another Chance to Shine as an Underdog for Cody Stamann
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Ninth ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Cody Stamann sees his UFC on ESPN 7 bout as a common and beneficial scenario for him. He believes the “hype” surrounding his opponent inside Washington D.C.,’s Capital One Arena -- Yadong Song -- once again offers him an opportunity to play the underdog. A role he has become familiar with during his UFC career.
The man also known as “Spartan” was set to face No. 10-ranked veteran bantamweight Rob Font in June. However, a shoulder injury forced him out of the booking, and he will now face the No. 13-ranked Song on Saturday night. Yet, despite being set to face a lower ranked opponent, Stamann, 30, believes he has more to gain from a fight with the upstart from China than the higher-ranked veteran from New England.
“The Font fight I didn’t feel did that much for me,” Stamann told Sherdog. “Font’s been in the game, he’s done okay. He hasn’t been able to compete with the guys that are higher in the Top-10. To where now, I have a guy like Yadong [and people say], ‘he’s the next this, he’s the next that.’ I feel like this fight is a better fight for me. Just because of all the hype. I’ve been in this situation before with Tom Duquesnoy. You’ve got a guy that’s being hyped up like crazy. And when you have someone like that; a lot of eyes on that fight, people are curious to see how you’re going to do against him. I think I’m an underdog in this fight. Which I absolutely f***ing love. I love being the underdog, because I’ve been the underdog in probably five of my six UFC fights. This is a pretty familiar feeling for me. This is one of those situations in your career where you can really shoot up the ladder, or fall on your face. Those are the situations I really enjoy.”
In this conversation with Sherdog, Stamann spoke on the injury that removed him from his scheduled bout in June and why the Yadong fight interested him, as well as how rankings don’t hold as much importance to him anymore.
