Cody Stamann really wants the opportunity to avenge his loss to Merab Dvalishvili.

In his return to bantamweight, Stamann (20-5-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Dvalishvili at UFC on ESPN 23 in May 2021. The loss was part of a three-fight skid, and now that Stamann is back in the win column, he hopes he can run things back with Dvalishvili.

After beating Stamann, Dvalishvili (14-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) went on to finish former title challenger Marlon Moraes, which set up him with a matchup against ex-featherweight king Jose Aldo at UFC 278.

“Merab is slated to fight Aldo. He’s the f*cking No. 1 target on the comeback tour,” Stamann told MMA Junkie Radio. “(He’s) such a nice dude, too. I really like him, in and out of the cage. I like the way he fights. He’s a f*cking tenacious little bastard, and I like the guy personally. He’s super nice, he’s humble, he’s very respectable of everyone – super nice guy. But I want to get in the cage and kill that motherf*cker. I really do – just because I know I can.

“I know that stylistically, if there’s a fight I really dropped the ball on, it was the Merab fight. I made so many stupid mistakes that cost me that fight, and it really – I don’t know. I gave him too much respect. I gave his wrestling too much respect. I hurt him. I didn’t jump on him. I made so many mistakes. That’s one I want to get back. So I’m interested to see what happens with him and Aldo. I hope he does well, but I’m going to get him eventually.”

Stamann is coming off his first octagon finish, a 59-second knockout of Eddie Wineland at UFC on ESPN 37 in June. With his back no longer against the wall, the 32-year-old hopes he can continue putting on standout performances.

“I’ve always been able to throw my hands and knock guys out. I just haven’t been showing that,” Stamann said. “I really feel like I’ve been fighting at a fraction of what I’m capable of fighting at, and now I have a lot more confidence in my abilities, and I know how I have to fight moving forward.”