Cody Stamann was very honest in his pitch to get a short-notice fight with Sean O’Malley.
Just more than a week from UFC 264, O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) needs a new opponent after Louis Smolka was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.
Plenty of bantamweights lined up Tuesday on social media to jump at the O’Malley matchup, and Stamann (19-4-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) was among them to declare that he wants in. Eager to get the fight, Stamann sees plenty of perks in facing a guy like O’Malley, whom he’s pretty envious of.
He explains why.
“I haven’t exactly had the easiest run in the UFC, and I’m super jealous and envious of the run he’s had,” Stamann told MMA Junkie Radio. “I haven’t gotten those fights. I haven’t gotten those fights where you get guys on a skid, or you get a name on his way out. I’ve just gotten anybody that wins fights, six fights in a row, I’m like the gatekeeper in the rankings, like I gotta go fight that guy. If a guy goes on a huge streak and he wins a bunch and he’s the next big thing, that’s the guy I have to fight. I’ve been an underdog in almost all my UFC matchups, probably more so than anybody else in the bantamweight division, and sometimes I can pull it off.
“Recently I haven’t been able to, and a guy like Sean O’Malley would just be the best of everything. I think there’s a big financial reward in that fight, there’s so much hype around the kid about how great he is, but I look at these guys, and it’s like, who have they fought? Who have they fought that’s a top contender? Because the guys that are ranked are ranked for a reason, and it’s because they fought the best guys, and they’ve won. So you really gotta start looking at who people fight, not necessarily how well they’re doing against the entry-level guys in the UFC.”
Stamann is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Jimmie Rivera and most recently Merab Dvalishvili on May 1, but he’s ranked in the UFC’s top 15 bantamweights. Stamann thinks O’Malley, whose lone defeat was by TKO to Marlon Vera, is yet to face a worthy contender, and now is his chance to legitimize himself as a top-level fighter.
“How long can you just fight guys outside of the rankings, guys on their way out before people start to realize that maybe you’re not a legit contender and that you’re just a guy that has a flashy style that people like to see,” Stamann said. “You’re a character outside the cage, but there’s no hiding when you get in there. It doesn’t really matter who you smoke weed with or how many followers you have on Instagram because when you get in the cage and fight somebody, that’s real. And fight somebody that’s competed against the best, it’s a different experience, and I learned it the hard way.
“I fought Bryan Caraway and Aljamain Sterling in my third and fourth fight in the UFC. I didn’t really get the UFC welcome that others guys like O’Malley did. I went right to the top, I went right into the rankings, and I fought nothing but killers ever since. I think that alone warrants me a fight against someone like O’Malley. Until he beats someone like me, he’s not legitimate in my eyes or in the eyes of any of the other athletes. That’s why there’s a whole line of guys begging for this fight.”
‘Jealous and envious’ of Sean O’Malley’s run, Cody Stamann wants UFC 264 opportunity
