Newlywed bantamweight Cody Stamann had to cut his honeymoon short after getting the call to fight at UFC Vegas 100.

“I was fishing on a boat in the mountains of California when I got the call after six or seven weeks. So the honeymoon got cut short a little bit,” Stamann (7/21/1) told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “Hopefully we can celebrate a little more after the fight, but I literally went from enjoying my life, my family here, my friends here, to a week later, like, ‘Okay, time to go to fight camp.’ But it was good, I was ready. I love the gym, I love working out, and I had been out of the gym for a few days. I was actually ready to go back; It was a nice little break, I think I needed it.”

Stamann enters UFC Vegas 100 in the final fight of his current deal with his back against the wall. The 34-year-old nicknamed “The Spartan” made his UFC debut in 2017 and immediately started a three-fight win streak that led to a fight with future champion Aljamain Sterling. Submitted by a rarely seen Suloev stretch, Stamann then bounced back with another three-fight undefeated streak, this time including a draw against top contender Song Yadong.

However, recent fights have not gone in Stamann’s favor. He is 2-5 in his last seven matches, and while that includes a loss to current champion Merab Dvalishvili, Stamann has lost two in a row, something he acknowledges isn’t a good place to be in with a contract that needs to be extended.

“I put myself between a rock and a hard place. Last fight on my contract, during a skid, gotta get the job done. There is nothing else going on,” Stamann admitted. “So I’m leaving no stone unturned and doing everything I can to be physically and mentally ready.”

Stamann has a history of devising game plans tailored to specific opponents, and believes he had a good one leading up to his last fight, against Taylor Lapilus. “And then I got into a fight and didn’t do anything I was supposed to do,” Stamann noted. “I just haven’t fought with a very high Fight IQ. If there’s one thing I’ve changed this time around, it’s like I’m only focused on myself. It was really just my attempt to be the sharpest version of myself. I don’t really know what Da’Mon Blackshear is going to bring into the cage.”

Blackshear, who is 2-3-1 overall in the UFC, enters UFC Vegas 100 on his own two-fight skid.

“I feel like ultimately we’re both in a do or die situation and it’s just going to be a scrap,” Stamann predicted. “It’s about who wants it more, and when push comes to shove, I’ve been here a long time and there’s a reason for that. It’s because when push comes to shove and I’m in a tough spot, I’ll snap it out and make it happen.

Watch our full interview with UFC Vegas 100 bantamweight Cody Stamann above.