When Jimi Manuwa knocked out Corey Anderson in their March light heavyweight showdown, he established himself as one of the top contenders at light heavyweight. In fact, were it not for the looming return of former champion Jon Jones, Manuwa could well be looking at a shot at reigning champ Daniel Cormier right now.
While Manuwa expects to have one more fight before he takes on the Cormier vs. Jones winner, he’s had plenty to say about both men over the last few weeks. Manuwa’s latest comments on these light heavyweight greats occurred on Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, when he discussed a possible showdown with Cormier.
“DC’s performance… it’s what DC does,” he said of Cormier’s UFC 210 defeat of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. “He takes people down and wrestles them. He doesn’t really impress me that much. He’s a great champion. He’s done great things. He’s always been the underdog. He’s been this short, fat wrestler who came and beat all these people. I respect him for that. He’s beaten some great names in the light heavyweight division, but I believe I can knock him out. I believe he won’t last two rounds with me at this moment in time. I’m at the peak of my career. I feel invincible. I feel untouchable now.”
“He’s a short, fat wrestler,” Manuwa continued. “That’s what he is. He’s going to try to take me down and maul me on the floor. That’s his only chance of winning the fight. He’s not going to stand up with me. He’s not going to beat me in the clinch, he’s not going to beat me boxing, kickboxing. He’s going to try to take me down and ground and pound or submit me.”
Manuwa then suggested that Cormier might be surprised by his ground game.
“He hasn’t seen my ground game,” he said. “He hasn’t seen my jiu jitsu. He hasn’t seen my wrestling. He’s got one way that he thinks he can win the fight.”
As for an official prediction on this potential fight? Manuwa expects to put Cormier down inside two rounds.
“Just give me two rounds, give me two rounds with DC,” he said. “Everyone that fights me should expect to get knocked out.”
How do you think Jimi Manuwa would do against Daniel Cormier?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/27/2017.