This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 25, Cody Stamann (19-4-1) was tasked with trying to stop Merab Dvalishvili (13-4). Dvalishvili had won five fights in a row leading into Saturday and The Spartan was trying to stop that winning streak.
These two men were scheduled to fight a couple of times over the last year. However, the fight always fell through. But, at UFC Vegas 25, we finally got to see these two talented bantamweights go to war.
Stamann was looking to bounce back after a loss in his last outing. On the UFC‘s first trip to Fight Island, Stamann took on Jimmie Rivera. It was a huge fight for Stamann, but he came up just a bit short.
Stamann started out his UFC career going 3-0. However, since then he was 2-2-1 heading into Saturday night. Well, unfortunately for Stamann, he wasn’t able to turn away the storm that is Merab Dvalishvili.
While Stamann was the one stepping forward throughout the fight, there was just nonstop action from Dvalishvili on Saturday night. Stamann had moments including getting the better of the grappling a few times, but ultimately, Dvalishvili controlled the fight. Ultimately, Stamann dropped a unanimous decision which brings him to just 2-3-1 in his last six fights.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 25?
Despite the loss, Cody Stamann remains in the UFC’s top fifteen at bantamweight. With the updated rankings coming out today, Stamann clocks in at the thirteenth position which is where he was before Saturday night.
With Stamann still inside the top fifteen, what should the UFC do with him next? There is one fight that I love for Stamann and the bantamweight division. That is a matchup with Casey Kenney (16-3-1).
Kenney is coming off of a loss to Dominick Cruz back at UFC 259. That loss snapped a three-fight win streak. Since making his octagon debut back in 2019, the only two men to have defeated Kenney inside the octagon are Cruz and Dvalishvili.
Kenney and Stamann find themselves in a very similar position. I think the best move would be the pair them up against each other to see who the better prospect is. Given the way their last fights went, I think the UFC could make this fight sooner than later.