Cody Stamann was last seen in action at UFC 235, defeating Alejandro Perez by way of unanimous decision.
The bantamweight prospect knows who he wants to fight next, with those potential future opponents being Thomas Almeida or Ricky Simon.
“My next fight, I would like to fight a guy like Ricky Simon or Thomas Almeida, one of these guys 10-15 and then after that I would like to go after a No. 5 guy, I would like to go beat a contender. And then I think I’m still one more fight away from the title,” Stamann said to MMA Fighting.
Almeida was last seen in action at UFC 220, while Simon was last in the Octagon at UFC 234.
Stamann knows that whomever he fights next, a best case scenario would be getting a finish in the Octagon.
“I feel like that’s exactly what I need. I feel like a win isn’t really enough,” Stamann said. “The division is too competitive. I think I can scratch out wins against all these guys and I think that’s why I was disappointed against Perez, because I was ready to counter him and put him to sleep, but you can’t counter a guy that’s not throwing. The win wasn’t all I needed in that fight, I felt like I needed a finish, so when it was over I really wasn’t that thrilled with how it all went down. Moving forward, 100 percent want to fight a guy that’s gonna bring it, that’s gonna come after me, that’s not super meticulous. If you look at the top five, top six guys, one, these guys never get finished and two, they all fight pretty safe. Everyone’s kind of fighting really safe because they’re holding onto that title opportunity. If you watch the fights when they fight a guy that’s ranked less than them, they fight extremely safe, they just edge rounds out. And I don’t want anymore fights like that. That’s not gonna get me fan recognition, that’s not gonna get me where I want to be in this sport as an athlete.”
Neither Almeida or Simon have responded to the challenges laid out by Stamann.
