Cody Stamann feels that all great fighters make their way stateside, including UFC DC opponent Song Yadong.
Washington, D.C. — Ahead of a showdown with Song Yadong in Washington, Cody Stamann has suggested that all great MMA champions train in the United States.
Stamann will be fighting China’s Song on Saturday at the Capital One Arena, part of the UFC on ESPN 7 main card. It’s a fight that brings about a sense of deja vu for the bantamweight, who has been paired up with a surging prospect before.
“Obviously Song Yadong has a ton of hype behind him. This reminds me so much about the Tom Duquesnoy fight,” Stamann told media outlets including Cageside Press on Thursday. “Everything about it. The media, the questions I’m being asked. It’s the same thing. It’s like I’m having deja vu. And that was the same: 2-to-1 underdog, fighting a guy who was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread.”
“I think people know by now, Americans are the best,” he continued. “We’re the best at MMA. We just are. Besides a few outliers, for the most part, everyone that’s really good is from America. Even guys that aren’t good come here to train. I’m just going to give him a good ol’ American ass-whooping.”
It’s a statement that will no doubt raise some eyebrows. Asked if the fight was more meaningful given it was in the U.S. capital, especially with his patriotic tone, Stamann answered “sure, sure it’s cool to be here.” But he made sure to make clear that he wasn’t attacking his opponent’s heritage.
“It wasn’t really a shot at where he comes from. Obviously I respect him and where he comes from,” Stamann said. “It’s just the truth. Even he trains in the U.S. Khabib trains in the U.S. Every single great champion ever has trained in the U.S. We just have the best MMA gyms and coaching in the U.S. So everyone ends up being here, that’s just the truth.”
When it was pointed out that middleweight champion Israel Adesanya doesn’t train stateside, Stamann retorted “he’s here a lot through. I’m at the PI all the time, and I see him quite a bit.”
Somewhere, Georges St. Pierre fans are gnashing their teeth. One of the greatest fighters of all time, GSP trained at Montreal’s TriStar gym, home to a host of talented fighters.
While Stamann was speaking to the media Thursday, news was slowly trickling out that Frankie Edgar was set to replace Brian Ortega at UFC Busan. Which leaves Cory Sandhagen in need of an opponent early next year.
Stamann made sure to let it be known that he’d be interested. “I live in Las Vegas now, so they can feel free to give me a call. But I’m going to want a lot more money, just so they know that up front.”
Watch the full UFC DC media day scrum with Cody Stamann above!
