Off Guard: Cody Stamann looks to make statement against Song Yadong

Cody Stamann could break into the top tier of bantamweight contenders as he looks to make a statement on Dec. 7.

Stamann (18-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on Song Yadong  at UFC on ESPN 7, and while he admits that he’s in for a tough challenge, he’s confident that he has the game plan to beat him.

“I don’t know about excited, that kid is nasty,” Stamann told MMA Junkie. “He’s a nasty little (expletive) for sure but same thing, I got to beat his (expletive) and cut the paycheck. I don’t really see it any different than anything else. I just got to stylistically prepare for what he does well, and I do that really well. I’m good at game planning and scheming and figuring out ways to beat people and things are starting to come together.”

Stamann recently suffered his first setback in almost four years, in a submission loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 228, but was able to rebound with a unanimous decision over Alejandro Perez in his last outing in March.

Yadong (15-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the other hand, is off to a 4-0 start in the UFC, notching three performance bonuses in the process. In his last outing, he scored a first round knockout over Perez at UFC 239, the same opponent Stamann last fought.

“I see a lot of guys that rise and fizzle out,” Stamann said. “I’m not saying that he’s that guy, he’s got a lot of really great people around him, he’s a really good athlete but it doesn’t make a difference. Dec. 7, I’m going to beat the (expletive) out of him. That’s all there is to it.”

And with the recent additions of former champions and future hall of famers Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo to the division, Stamann is excited for the possibility to one day throw down with these legends.

“You got Aldo and Edgar coming down to (1)35 and those are two more legends to add to the already stacked division so it’s insane, and those are fights that I want,” Stamann said. “I’m excited about it, I think a lot of guys are probably shitting their pants because oh no all these really good guys are moving into bantamweight. I’m pumped about it because I do think I can beat those guys, and I think I’m going to peak at just the right time as an athlete to kind of get those legends like Edgar and Jose Aldo, right at the ends of their careers.”