Cody Stamann had a feeling his UFC career was over.
The 30-fight veteran, who spent over seven years in the promotion, suffered a third straight loss back in November 2024, which served as the final bout on his contract. In that situation, the UFC retains the right to re-sign a fighter to a new deal or remove them from the roster altogether. Stamann still held some hope that he might get a call on short notice, because he was always reliably available whenever that happened in the past.
Instead, three months later, Stamann learned his fate through social media that his time with the UFC was finished.
“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.”
Of course, Stamann certainly isn’t the first fighter to learn about being released or not getting re-signed in similar fashion but he didn’t let the sting fester too long before he got over it.
Truth be told, he understands that’s just how the sport works sometimes and there’s no ill will whatsoever about how it was all handled.
“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.”
In the aftermath of his UFC career coming to an end, Stamann legitimately thought he might be teetering on the brink of retirement.
Stamann dedicated 15 years of his life to MMA, and he was nearly ready to walk away for good when he got pulled back in again.
“Basically when I got released, I’ve been in the gym constantly thinking something’s going to come up,” Stamann said. “At 145 pounds, I’m really going to be able to make my claim, and I was really adamant about that. I really thought I was going to be able to jump back in and do that because the UFC knows that I’m the guy you can call on three or four days’ notice. I’m in Vegas, I’ve got my medicals done. When it didn’t happen, I was like OK, maybe it’s time to move on.
“That lasted maybe two weeks. Like two weeks later, my buddy Dan Ige was fighting [Patricio] Pitbull and they’re like ‘you’re the exact same size as this dude’ and I’ve been Pitbull for other people in the past, we need you in the gym. I’m like, I’ll be there. Then my buddy Kai Kamaka, same thing, he’s fighting a guy about my size, and I’m like OK. I just stayed in the gym. I’m spending all this time in the gym, let’s get in a scrap. I think I might have been done with MMA for a few weeks but MMA wasn’t done with me.”
Deciding that he was going to move forward with his career still forced Stamann to take a long, hard look at how his time spent in the UFC ended with so many ups and downs.
He started 5-1-1 through his first seven fights, which earned him a top 15 ranking at bantamweight while also battling opponents like future champion Aljamain Sterling and Song Yadong, who remains one of the best fighters competing at 135 pounds.
But his desire to become more entertaining actually sacrificed Stamann’s best strategy to win most of his fights.
“I decided I wanted to be a kickboxer,” Stamann said. “I didn’t want people to think I was boring. So I tried to fight on my feet more when really the easiest path for me has always been to take people down. I probably should have done more of that. That’s probably the only thing I actually regret.
“I had an awesome time [in the UFC]. I made a lot of money. I did a lot of cool stuff, and I don’t regret any of it. I don’t think I’m done with this sport. I think I have a lot more to give this sport.”
Stamann returns to action on Saturday at a Legends of Combat show in his native Michigan, which is his first fight back on the regional scene since 2017.
It was a humbling to return to his roots after competing on the biggest stage in combat sports with the UFC, but Stamann appreciates that he’s still got a job and people still want to watch him compete.
That said, Stamann hopes to return with a win, establish himself as a threat at 145 pounds and then he’s targeting a potential run in another major promotion in 2026.
“I think I can literally walk on any stage outside the UFC and take out any champion at 145 pounds,” Stamann said. “It’s not that I’m just thinking that in my mind. I’ve seen these guys in the gym. I’ve trained with them. I’ve trained with champions in other organizations, and I’m like wow, this guy is the champ over there? I would whoop this dude in the cage. I did it in the gym pretty easily, I know I could do it in the cage.
“I don’t think I’m done. I think I’ll be a world champion in another organization in a year.”
