Cody Stamann vs. Jimmie Rivera – 7/15/20 UFC on ESPN 13 Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Jimmie Rivera and Cody Stamann fight Wednesday during UFC on ESPN 13 at Yas Island Beach.

Jimmie Rivera enters this fight with a 22-4 record and has won 73 percent of his fights by decision. Rivera has lost three of his last four fights and is coming off a June (2019) loss to Petr Yan. Rivera is averaging 4.10 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 40 percent. Rivera is averaging 0.70 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 23 percent. Rivera is coming off a decision los at UFC 238 despite landing more total strikes than his opponent and a much higher significant strikes percentage. Rivera is now in a bit of a funk and needs a victory here to kind of right the ship before things get out of hand. Rivera is a violent power striker who relies on combinations and hooks to the body, and he mixes in his leg kicks well, as he’s a third degree black belt in Kyokushin. Rivera can be a bit wild at times on his feet, but his wrestling background allows him to scramble well and stay upright despite being off balance at times. Gritty is a good word to describe Rivera’s fighting style. Rivera will go for takedowns sometimes, but he’s far more effective with his stand up due to his powerful combinations and variety of shots. Rivera is also very well conditioned and it’s allowed him to win 16 of his 19 career decisions. This will be Rivera’s first career fight in Abu Dhabi.

Cody Stamann enters this fight with a 19-2-1 record and has won 58 percent of his fights by decision. Stamann has won six of his last eight fights and is coming off a June win over Brian Kelleher. Stamann is averaging 4.51 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy percentage of 49 percent. Stamann is averaging 3.34 takedowns with an accuracy percentage of 48 percent. Stamann is coming off a dominating performance at UFC 250 where he landed 113 total strikes and produced a pair of takedowns in his featherweight debut. Stamann will now try to string together wins on a quick turnaround, and this will actually be his third fight since December. Now with a 5-1-1 record under the UFC banner, Stamann has a chance to really start turning some heads with a victory here. Stamann has some highly impressive striking with a boxing background, as he thitems heavy hands and combinations, but he’ll also mix a kick in every once in a while. Stamann is also a blue belt in BJJ and wrestled in college, so he can hold his own on the canvas and has displayed solid ground and pound as well. A balanced fighter and still only 30 years old, Stamann has the ability to climb up the rankings rather quickly. This will be Stamann’s first career fight in Abu Dhabi.

I get that Rivera is the veteran and we can’t expect him to stay in this losing drought for long, and he just held his own against the current champ in Yan. Rivera also has a four-inch reach advantage and is fighting somebody who is fighting for the second time in as many months. Still, Stamann as an underdog here makes you scratch your head a bit. Stamann has had great success on the UFC level, looked really good at UFC 250 and is probably the more balanced fighter in this fight given his high level striking but also his wrestling ability. I’m not betting Rivera as a favorite in his current form.

Give me Stamann and the plus money.