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After winning his first three UFC bouts, Cody Stamann would quickly learn that not every fight inside the octagon was going to go his way.
Joining the promotion in 2017, Stamann recorded his first three UFC victories by way of decision before being submitted by former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling the following year.
From there, the next 11 fights under the UFC banner were a seesaw, up and down.
The 35-year-old “Spartan” Stamann has not recorded a win since January 2023, dropping the final three fights on his UFC contract. Now the Sparta, Michigan native is set to compete outside the UFC, at Legends of Combat 5 this weekend and reflects back on his time with the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet.
“That was my last fight on my contract in November,” Stamann explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Obviously, not a great a great showing for me. Maybe the worst fight of my entire career. I had a pretty good idea I was done. But also, I was like if there’s a short-notice opportunity at 145 pounds, I would love to do that. Because I think 145 pounds is where I’m going to be the rest of my career. I’ve just gotten too big. So if something pops up [they said] ‘we’ll see.’
“Nothing popped up, and I was released. Granted the way I was released wasn’t great. I found out on Instagram. It would have been nice to get something [from the UFC], like it would have been nice if somebody told me before. I had to learn about it via Instagram and Twitter. That sucked but the UFC was always really good to me. I don’t have a whole lot of complaints. I’m not going to sit here and bitch about anything because they changed my life, and I’m thankful for that.”
Was it the most ideal way to learn you have been released from a contract? No. But Stamann understands it.
“That’s the game,” Stamann said. “We sign up for it. It’s the hurt business. If you’re sensitive and can’t handle that, you should have stayed in school. I’m long past all that.
“Obviously not great but this is what we do. This business is insane. We’re out there fighting in our underwear fighting in front of millions of people. There’s nothing more vulnerable than that.”
