Athletes
Cody Stamann Is Here To Prove He Is The Best
Stamann Faces Taylor Lapilus Saturday Night In Louisville And Has Big Dreams For What Comes Next
At the UFC level, everyone can fight. The talent is there, the skillsets are varied but high level, and it makes picking fights correctly on a consistent basis a difficult task. So what can you look at to determine who is going to win this Saturday’s bantamweight contest between Cody Stamann and Taylor Lapilus.
It may come down to the weather.
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“I think it's a Midwest thing,” said Stamann, a product of Sparta, Michigan. “The Midwest is a tough place to live. Whether it's Detroit, Grand Rapids, anywhere, the weather is s**t and the people are mean. It's kind of like New York. You get tough or get lost and that makes for some of the best boxers and some of the best wrestlers in the world. The Midwest produces most of the really, really tough athletes in the U.S. and it's because it's a hard place to live. The same way the people from Dagestan are the apex of fighting right now, it's because they grew up in a hard way, just like the little country boys from the Midwest. You showed up for work in the rain, sleet, snow or shine, and that's always been my mentality and it's gotten me pretty far.”
Approaching his seventh year on the UFC roster, Stamann has gotten pretty far, with 13 Octagon appearances under his belt, the majority in the ultra-tough bantamweight division. There have been big wins and disappointing losses, but perhaps the 34-year-old’s toughest foe has been his own body, with a bicep tear last September being the latest ailment to sideline him.
At this point, he’s used to fighting through pain, so in a few weeks he was using the arm again, and in four months he was back in the gym full-time. It’s often the price you pay for being a prizefighter, and Stamann hasn’t been able to chase that prize.
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“I was actually just talking to my coach about this, and he was saying, ‘This is the best I've ever seen you, the most motivated I've ever seen you,’” said Stamann. “And I'm like, honestly, nothing motivates you like necessity. And nothing really makes you appreciate the things you have more than losing them. Everything was taken away and I came back with a different perspective. I'm no longer dragging ass to get to the gym. I'm happy to be there. I'm a lot more grateful for the opportunities that I have. And I'm not a young man, so I don't really plan on fighting until I'm 40. So the way I look at it, I don't have too many opportunities left, and the rest of this ride I'm going to absolutely go balls out.”
So he missed this a little bit?
“It went from being a dream to a reality to a job, and now it's just the dream again,” said Stamann, whose dream includes getting back in the win column this weekend after seeing a two-fight winning streak snapped by Douglas Silva de Andrade in May of last year. He’s got a tough test ahead of him in France’s Lapilus, but he’s ready for whatever “Double Impact” brings to Louisville.
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“He fought another dude that lives in Vegas (Farid Basharat), so I was familiar with him, but honestly, I've been out a year, so any name that they gave me, I was saying yes. (Laughs) I've kind of always been that way anyways. It's like when I get in the UFC, I want to fight the biggest, baddest dudes there are, and I'm not going to be that picky, choosy guy that doesn't fight because he wants to get the right matchup. We're here to prove we're the best. Let's figure it out.”
Speaking of which, Stamann wants to make up for lost time and get a number next to his name as soon as possible. So he’s already mapped out an ideal rest of the year.
“I think I'm going to whoop this French kid and then I'm going to call out Rob Font and fight him and get myself right back in the mix.”
Midwest style.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Imavov took place live from KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on June 8, 2024. See the final Prelims & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
