Athletes
Cody Stamann's Birthday Battle
Bantamweight Cody Stamann Returns Against Da'mon Blackshear On His Birthday At UFC APEX For UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates
Some fighters have an issue fighting in the UFC APEX. That’s understandable, considering that there’s nothing quite like fighting in a packed arena in front of 20,000 people. But Cody Stamann has no such issues.
“I don't really mind it,” said Stamann, who makes his third APEX appearance this Saturday against Da’Mon Blackshear. “The APEX is really simple, honestly. There's a lot of times when there'd be an APEX card and they would send me to Kentucky or something and I'd be like, why can't I just fight the weekend before at the APEX? It's literally four miles from my house. So I hop on a shuttle, go there, wrap my hands, get in a fight, and then I go home and it's beautiful.”
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It's another perk of living in the fight capital of the world. And while Stamann does like the idea of getting on a plane with his team and going off to battle, sleeping in his own bed during fight week is so much better.
“I'm a creature of comfort,” he laughs. “I love waking up in my own bed and taking my time and then moseying in and then getting into the cage to fight. It's just really simple for me. And yeah, the last time I did it at the APEX, man, it was awesome. I was home by nine o'clock. I had a bunch of people over and had an awesome time. So I'm willing and ready to do that again.”
On his birthday, no less, as “The Spartan” turns 35 on fight day. And while most would have quite different plans for blowing out the candles, there’s no place Stamann would rather be than in the Octagon. Yes, at the APEX.
“The experience of walking out into a full arena with people going nuts is cool,” he admits. “Either they're cheering for you or they're spitting on you; it’s one thing or another. (Laughs) And that is a pretty surreal experience, but I've experienced it. My first three fights in the UFC were at T-Mobile arena. I fought all over the place. So, at this point, let's make it as simple as we possibly can. A fight at the APEX sounds awesome. I was literally thinking before about November 9th and what'd be cool. Go to the APEX, get in a fight on my birthday, come home, hang out. I can't think of a better birthday present to myself than that. And lo and behold, they called me up and said, ‘Hey, you want to do it?’ And I'm like, let's go.”
READ: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates
And if Stamann has his way, he wants to prove that life does begin at 35, old man strength fully loaded.
“I definitely feel like the old man strength has officially come in, no question,” he laughs “Also, I feel like I'm still the same athlete I've always been, but man, being on this grind, it’s a six-week camp and you’ve got to hit the ground running and really just jump into all the hard stuff with no grace period. There's no time to work kinks out, you’ve just got to go after it. And I will say that 35 compared to 25, when I was 25, I feel like I recovered a lot faster and now things hurt a little more. I wake up in the morning and I'm like, oh man, I got three workouts today. This is going to hurt. So athletically, I feel like I still got it, but doing the same stuff I did when I was 25, it doesn't feel the same.”
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Father Time waits for no one, but in this sport, there’s something to be said for experience, and in the perennially tough bantamweight division, few sport that elite level experience like Stamann does. Just look at the resume, which includes world champions Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling, as well as legit contenders Bryan Caraway, Jimmie Rivera, Song Yadong, Eddie Wineland and Said Nurmagomedov. And while he enters Saturday’s bout on a two-fight losing skid, he believes he still has a run in him.
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“In my heart, I know that I can do it,” he said. “And I know that I can beat anybody. I've had some really close fights with the best guys in the world, the guys at the pinnacle of the sport. Merab is the champ. This guy's absolutely buzzsawing everybody. Him and I fought to a really close decision. If I would've zigged instead of zagged a couple times, I win that fight. I'm one of the only guys that can wrestle and do all the things that he can do at that level and keep up with him. So, for me, in my heart, I still believe that I can beat anybody, and that if I just put it together mentally a handful of times, I can put myself in a position to get those big fights. But then statistically, you look at it and guys over 35 don't do well in title fights. They were stressing that big time when (Alexander) Volkanovski was fighting. That was the first time I saw that and I was like, man, the numbers are against me, man. Can I really still do this? And the answer is, yeah, I do honestly believe that I can.”
Stamann goes on to tell me how his sister once said that he should use “Rocky” as his nickname. He didn’t take too kindly to that suggestion, but now, years later, he understands what she was getting at.
“I thought she was just making fun of me, and she's like, ‘No, I just think that that's who you Things aren't going to happen the way that you want them to, but I think eventually you're going to end up getting everything you want.’ And she's my baby sister and I love her and I can't be mad at her, but, at the same time, I thought that was messed up. So you're saying things are going to be really, really hard for me? And at that time, I think I was 3-0 in the UFC and I'm like, I don't know, dude. I'm doing pretty good. But I think she had enough foresight to know that eventually somebody was going to get me, the chips are going to be down, and that I was going to find out what I was really made of.”
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Baby sister was one hundred percent right. And Stamann responded like Rocky would, something he’s still doing, ready for one more round because he didn’t hear a bell yet.
“Let's be honest, the chips are down,” he said. “I'm in a tough situation again, and I got to go out there and perform. But those are the times when I really shine. I don't know why, and I wish it didn't take being in a tough spot for me to come out of my shell and be the athlete that I'm capable of being, but it's just the truth. I do well under duress for whatever reason. I just have that mentality. Chips are down, everything's not going my way, somehow, I pull it out and I'm definitely going to have to channel that for this fight.”
UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 12, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!