UFC London: Jimi Manuwa is hunting a KO against a familiar foe on 17 March
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Last time Jimi Manuwa stepped into the octagon in London he produced a one-punch KO. Now, he's targeting another
One year on from his stunning KO against Corey Anderson, and Jimi Manuwa is set for his hometown return - this time against Poland’s Jan Blachowicz in a light-heavyweight rematch at The O2 Arena on 17 March.
Manuwa is determined to get back to winning ways after being stopped by Swiss contender Volkan Oezdemir in his last outing. And he sees the match-up with Blachowicz as an opportunity to not only get back in the win column, but also put right the one anomaly on his list of wins.
Manuwa has 17 wins on his record, 15 by KO and one by submission. The one remaining win was against Blachowicz, who took him the distance at UFC Fight Night in Krakow, Poland, back in April 2015.
The big Pole is the only man to take Manuwa the distance, and the Brit wants to make sure he stamps his authority on the former KSW champion second time around.
Speaking to BBC Three ahead of the bout, Manuwa says he’s fired up for his hometown return.
“It’s a fight that I’m motivated for, because I didn’t finish him last time,” he explains.
“My coaches told me a win’s a win, no matter how you do it. But I wasn’t happy. He’s the only decision win on my record, and I plan on rectifying that. I’m fired up for it, especially because I’m coming off a loss. I’m hungrier than ever.”
Manuwa played a starring role the last time the UFC visited London, as he knocked out American Corey Anderson with a huge left hook in the first round.
And the 37-year-old Brit says he loves nothing better than competing in his home town and delivering the goods for his legion of British fans.
“This is just how I like it,” he says of his London return. “It’s always great fighting in front of familiar faces and not having to travel and deal with jet-lag and all of that stuff. I just love putting on a show for my fans.”
And ahead of his return to the capital next month, he rates his one-punch finish of Anderson at The O2 last year as the most satisfying win of his career.
“You know what? I think it is,” he says. “Walking out and seeing so many familiar faces in the crowd, then getting the job done in round one - it was almost picture-perfect that night.”
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One thing’s for sure, when Manuwa steps back into the cage, he’ll be looking to add another knockout to his record.
“I’m so going for the knockout in this fight. I’m angry about how my last fight went, so I’m going to take it out on him in this fight. It went to a decision with him last time and I wasn’t happy with the win.
"I’m not going to be falling into any traps, I’m going to be patient. But I’m going to be aggressive and I’m going for that knockout.”
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Manuwa on… the light-heavyweight title picture
“I know Alex [Gustafsson] is next in line for the shot and I believe he definitely needs to be fighting for a world title in his next fight. And I believe if he did fight DC [current champion Daniel Cormier], he’d beat him. As for me? I just want to get my win on 17 March, then go from there.”
Manuwa on… What’s next for him
“We’ll see what happens after this fight. I’m past wanting to fight Glover [Teixeira] now. Even if I got offered to fight Glover, I’m not sure I’d take it now after he’s turned me down twice - he clearly doesn’t want to fight me. If it’s not a title shot, the fight I’d be looking for next is a rematch against Oezdemir.”
Manuwa on… the UK’s MMA men to watch
“I think there’s a few standout guys in the UK circuit. I know there’s loads of good fighters who aren’t in the UFC, who are on the verge of getting signed.
“One of my training partners, Nathan Rose, is doing really well. He’s fighting in BAMMA right now. Daniel Crawford, who was BAMMA featherweight champion, used to train with me. And he’s just been signed by Bellator. These guys have just got to get in there and be exciting and make names for themselves. Domestically, the scene is booming.”
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