Cody Stamann: Fighting a prospect like Song Yadong a deja vu moment at UFC on ESPN 7

WASHINGTON – Song Yadong might be all the hype, but it’s nothing new for Cody Stamann.

In his second UFC fight, Stamann took on one of Europe’s top prospects, Tom Duquesnoy, and was able to put a stop to his 12-fight unbeaten run.

Stamann (18-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) finds himself in a familiar situation in his fight against Yadong (15-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 7, since Yadong is another rising prospect.

“Obviously, Song Yadong has a ton of hype behind him, which reminds me so much of the Tom Duquesnoy fight,” Stamann told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “Everything about it: the media, the questions I’m being asked – it’s the same thing. I mean, it’s literally almost like I’m having deja vu and that was the same: 2-1 underdog, fighting a guy who’s supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. But I think people know by now that Americans are the best. We’re the best at MMA. We just are.”

Stamann is coming off a unanimous decision win over Alejandro Perez at UFC 235 and is off to a 4-1 start in his UFC career. He has only been stopped once in his career – a submission loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 228 – and doesn’t think Yadong will be able to land anything significant on him during the fight.

“Different styles – obviously, Song’s more of a boxer, Tom’s more of a kickboxer, but same thing: both dangerous finishers, both kind of untested when it came to the grappling aspect of MMA,” Stamann said. “I’m a hard guy to hit. I don’t get hit with a lot of big shots. I think in my last fight, I got hit with like three or four significant shots – so good luck landing a right hand on me.”