Cody Stamann didn’t have the spotlight on him going into UFC 216 but earned a lot of attention after knocking off highly touted bantamweight prospect Tom Duquesnoy on Saturday night.
While Stamann shared an identical record with Duquesnoy going into the fight, it was the ultra-exciting French fighter who a decided favorite based on the betting lines. Stamann was happy to play the underdog before handing Duquesnoy his first loss in the UFC.
As the fight got underway, Stamann was quick to press forward with the takedown early but Duquesnoy was able to get up from the ground in a hurry before resetting in the center of the Octagon.
Duquesnoy was very aggressive on the feet, constantly on the attack and looking for explosive combinations that tagged Stamann several times during numerous exchanges.
Halfway through the round, Duquesnoy tagged Stamann with a hard elbow that backed his opponent up to the cage before he quickly reacted with a takedown to bring the fight back to the mat.
Duquesnoy definitely got the better of the striking exchanges throughout the opening round although he didn’t open up too much to prevent Stamann from out wrestling him.
Cody Stamann guts out a tough split decision win over Tom Duquesnoy to close out of UFC 216 prelim card! PPV time! https://t.co/EYDJDdQ6wx
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 8, 2017
The second round saw Duquesnoy continue to move forward while looking to land combinations but Stamann was smart to counter with two separate takedowns that planted the Frenchman on the ground.
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