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At UFC 250, Cody Stamann enters the biggest fight of his life when he takes on Brian Kelleher. The fight is special for multiple reasons. Kelleher might, at last, have a chance to prove his credential as a bantamweight, given this will be his third straight win. If Kelleher wins, he gets a chance to compete against higher-ranked athletes.
However, for Cody Stamann the fight has evolved into something else. Sometime around last week, he revealed that his younger brother, 18-year-old, Jacob died suddenly. The cause of death is still unknown.
Now in most cases, an athlete would pull out of the fight but for Cody Stamann it is important to go on. In an interview with MMA Junkie, he said,
People were like, ‘Hey, if you want to postpone this, wait a little longer, that’s 100 percent understandable', I just thought what most people think, I think, in those situations. What would the person that passed, what would they want me to do? And I can say without a shadow of a doubt he would want me to compete. He loved watching me compete, and I know that’s what he would want.”
Cody Stamann remains focused on the fight
Cody Stamann also said that this is not causing him to lose focus on the fight while adding his family plans on to start a foundation in the name of his brother.
“My heart is absolutely broken. I don’t even know. There’s no words; there’s nothing I can say that makes it any better. But my mind is sharp. That kid loved watching me fight. He’s gotta be one of my biggest fans. I’m focused on the fight. This isn’t taking away the focus or anything. It’s fuel for the fire. So I’m looking forward to being the best version of myself Saturday night.”
Cody Stamann last competed in December 2019 where he drew against Song Yadong. He is 4-1-1 in the UFC and stands with a record of 18-2. The mainevent at UFC 250 will see Amanda Nunes take on Felicia Spencer.
