The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 127

#2 Best: Manuwa and Blachowicz prove everyone wrong

The rematch between Jimi Manuwa and Jan Blachowicz turned out to be a barnburner

The UFC loves to book rematches, and while some of them – Silva/Sonnen II for example – have drawn hugely, sometimes they feel pointless. Last night’s rematch between Jimi Manuwa and Jan Blachowicz was one of those pointless ones. They first fought in 2015 and it was a legitimate stinker, with a slow pace, too much clinching, and Manuwa edging a tight decision.

With Blachowicz coming off a win and Manuwa a loss, it was weird to book them against each other to begin with – the rumours were that other fighters were refusing to fight Manuwa, but either way it didn’t sound appetising. Thankfully, the fighters delivered hugely in the cage and proved all of their doubters wrong.

The fight was comfortably the best of the show – winning Manuwa and Blachowicz a $50k bonus each. This time the result was different, Blachowicz picking up a unanimous decision after edging Manuwa in all three of the rounds. The difference appeared to be the use of a ramrod jab from the Polish fighter that kept Manuwa at distance, and also the fact that Manuwa’s suspect chin couldn’t really hold up to the power of Blachowicz’s strikes.

But Manuwa fought through a couple of knockdowns to really draw Blachowicz into a brawl, and both men went through some hellacious exchanges throughout the fight. So while the London fans weren’t happy with the result as Manuwa lost, both men can walk away with their heads held high after one of the best fights at 205lbs in recent memory.