This past weekend at UFC 210, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier picked up another impressive win as he defeated light heavyweight knockout artist Anthony Johnson in a highly anticipated showdown. Following his win over Johnson, Cormier turned to face top ranked light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa, who was in the crowd, and took shots at the light heavyweight contender:
“I told Jimi, ‘Stop pretending he wants to fight me.’ He don’t want none of this, he knows,” he added.
“You can’t beat me Jimi. Jimi you can come in here with your bare knuckle and punch me, I will eat that. I will eat that. You can’t beat me Jimi.
“Jimi, you can’t beat me, you know it. Don’t lie to yourself. I like Corey Anderson, but you just beat Corey Anderson. Sit down, young man.”
Manuwa of course was quick to fire back at the champ, however ‘Poster Boy’ reignited the war of words on social media this week:
Dana knows….. @dc_mma @mrdavidhaye I'm coming!! pic.twitter.com/nlbFtOWt4Y
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) April 14, 2017
U better keep my name out of your mouth homie. Dana would be sending a lamb to slaughter. Btw nice white shorts! https://t.co/S7YdRuENq0
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) April 14, 2017
Haha. Or what? U and I know ur not gonna do anything. Real recognise real brother. We will fight!! U will go to sleep. Ur a nice guy really
— JIMI MANUWA (@POSTERBOYJM) April 14, 2017
U don't believe u will knock me out Jimi come on. But it's ok u can spend a few months at the top during the build up. But that's all u get https://t.co/m71ZnHkqrj
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) April 14, 2017
While Cormier of course is coming off his dominant win over Anthony Johnson at UFC 210, which extended his win streak to 4 following his UFC 182 loss to Jon Jones, Jimi Manuwa has been on a bit of a tear of the light heavyweight division, going on a 2-fight win streak that has seen him knock out Ovince Saint Preux, and Corey Anderson in stellar performances that have seen Manuwa pick up back to back Performance of the Night bonuses.
In addition, Manuwa holds a 17-2 professional record, with his only two losses coming at the hands of former light heavyweight title challengers Alexander Gustafsson, and Anthony Johnson. His recent win streak, combined with Anthony Johnson’s recent retirement, have landed ‘Poster Boy’ at #3 on the UFC’s official light heavyweight rankings.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/14/2017.