Cody Stamann knows there’s a lot of pressure on him heading into Saturday’s bout with Said Nurmagomedov.
The bantamweight tilt takes place on the main card of UFC 270 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Stamann enters the fight in unfamiliar territory after dropping consecutive losses to Jimmie Rivera and Merab Dvalishvili, which have turned his first appearance in 2022 into a potential do-or-die scenario.
“You definitely feel like your nuts are against a saw, and you either have to pull them off, or you’re getting your nuts cut off. “That’s the way I describe it,” Stamann said to MMA Fighting on We Got Next . It was something I never expected to be in MMA. My decisions have led me to this point, and it’s on me to step up and make this sh*t happen to make sure I have a job on the 23rd.
“I’m no stranger to the pressure inside the cage. I’ve dealt with some heavy sh*t and had great performances before. I feel like this is a different load, but it’s also a huge load, and in those circumstances, that’s when I tighten sh*t up and the best version of myself comes out. This is what I believe will be happening this weekend .”
Stamman’s opponent, Nurmagomedov, returns to the octagon for the first time since stopping Mark Striegl in under a minute at UFC Fight Island 6 in October 2020. The 29-year-old is 3-1 in his four promotional appearances, with his lone loss coming to Raoni Barcelos.
Stamann, who was ranked throughout his UFC career believes that there’s no comparable strength in terms of the schedule.
” Stamann stated that stylistically, it is an honor to fight a man with four UFC bouts. “I don’t want to say that cliche thing where I’m on a different level than him, because who knows if that’s true. He is on a higher level in terms of experience and the men I have fought. I’ve been in there with the best. They offer a lot of things that I am familiar with. Said doesn’t. He’ll either be the person people believe he to be and I will have to do everything for him, or he will realize that someone with more UFC experience than I has makes it a very difficult night.
” I feel confident going into the fight. However, it’s not easy to see that he has dangerous weapons and is a tough dude.”
Betting lines heading into the fight see Nurmagomedov is a pretty sizable favorite, but Stamann is no stranger to proving the oddsmakers wrong.
” In every fight, I am the underdog,” Stamann stated. “If I was looking at this card and I was picking fights where I can potentially win some money, my fight would jump off the card at me. He’s been there with the top in his division. [Nurmagomedov] has only four [UFC] fights. When I look at Said, and I look at him completely unbiased, I watched him fight Justin Scoggins and I thought Scoggins beat him clearly. I didn’t think it was close. Scoggins was robbed, then Scoggins was cut. I was confused.
“When I look at Said, I look at him like he’s 2-2 in the UFC. He’s never fought someone in the rankings. .”
I don’t think the oddsmakers give him any respect.
With the pressure he has put on himself for UFC 270, Stamann believes that is where his A-game comes out. He plans to show that and make sure his job is 100-percent safe.
“Honest to God, I think I can land that big shot,” Stamann stated. “I know I can hurt him, and if he falls, that’s up to him. Based on what I have seen, I believe I can strike him with big shots. If I feel the need, I will take him down. That’s not the fight that I want to fight, but if I have to, I will hug that motherf*cker for 15 minutes and ride him like a horse.
“I have to raise my hand in some way. This is where we are. I feel like my nuts are close to being a saw and want that feeling to stop .”
