Jimi Manuwa is keeping his hopes high ahead of UFC London. The Light Heavyweight fighter will be going up against Jan Blachowicz this weekend and he feels that he is just a couple of wins away from a title shot.
After securing two impressive wins against Corey Anderson and Ovince St.Preux, Manuwa suffered a 42-second KO loss against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 214. Despite the loss, he is confident about a strong return to the cage.
“I think, realistically, I need at least one more big win, if not two. I think people want to see the rematch with Volkan (Oezdemir) or me with someone like Glover (Teixeira). But who knows. After this fight with Blachowicz I’m definitely in the mix for it,” Manuwa told to UFC.com.
The English fighter was also adamant about his rocky relationship with current Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
“Me and DC don’t like each other and that goes without saying. So I think people do want to see me fight him. People might write me off against him, but I believe in myself and what kind of fighter am I if I think, ‘Oh, if I fight him, he’s going to take me down and do this or do that.’ I believe in myself and I believe in what I can do.” He added.
Cormier busy with the Heavyweight division
A win against Blachowicz could indeed get Manuwa a No.1 contender’s fight considering the lack of depth in the division. But at the same time, Daniel Cormier is currently busy with his move to the Heavyweight division.
Cormier has a date with UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July and it would be interesting to see where Cormier goes from there.
As for Manuwa, he is currently 17-3 in his career with his losses coming against Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Johnson, and Volkan Oezdemir.
