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Cody Stamann comes into his fight this weekend at UFC 250 on the back of a tragic loss in his family.
This weekend at UFC 250 Cody Stamann is fighting for one of his biggest fans, his 18-year-old brother Jacob who unexpectedly passed away last week.
Stamann and his family are still waiting to find out the official cause of death of their loved one. in his own words, the loss has been an absolutely heart breaking one for Stamann, who said his brother was planning to come to Las Vegas and see him before the coronavirus outbreak. Talking to MMA Junkie, Stamann explained that, despite the sudden tragic loss of his brother, he wanted to go ahead with his fight against Brian Kelleher this weekend.
“People were like, ‘Hey, if you want to postpone this, wait a little longer, that’s 100 percent understandable,’” Stamann said. “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.”
Along with his family, Stamann plans on creating a foundation in Jacob’s name that will benefit youth wrestling programs in Michigan, his home state.
“My heart is absolutely broken,” Stamann said. “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.”
UFC 250 takes place this Saturday night, June 6th, at the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. Stamann’s fight with Kelleher will take place at featherweight instead of the two fighters usual bantamweight class.