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What’s the story?
As confirmed by the UFC in a press release, light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa will be returning to the octagon in his home city when he faces Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night: London in March.
In case you didn’t know...
Manuwa, 37, will be returning to the cage for the first time since UFC 214 where he suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of Volkan Oezdemir. His upcoming opponent, Jan Blachowicz, is currently riding a two-fight win streak and will be aiming to avenge his previous loss to Manuwa in their first meeting back in April 2015.
The heart of the matter
The Ultimate Fighting Championship revealed that the fight would take place courtesy of a press release this morning, with Manuwa himself commenting on the news over Twitter. With just over two months to go until the event, many will already be favouring The Poster Boy to walk away with his third victory in his last four fights.
Manuwa commented on the rematch: “He won’t make it to the last bell. He’s the only fighter I’ve gone to a decision with in my career and I aim to rectify that on March 17th. I will knock him out.
“I respect him as he is willing to fight anyone and he’s definitely improved since we last met, but I’ve got significantly better and we will see this in the Octagon. I’ll be patient and strike when he makes mistakes.”
On his training camp, he added: “I’ll be heading out to Allstars Training Center in Sweden to do part of my camp with Alex Gustafsson and the team as always.”
Speaking of his return to competing in his hometown, he said: “It’s always a great feeling performing in front of my London crowd. Last year was a great night at The O? with a great knockout and that’s what’s going down again on March 17th."
What’s next?
The card is expected to be filled out in the coming weeks, with Darren Till and Michael Bisping being two big names who are rumoured to take part in the event. Tickets to UFC FIGHT NIGHT® LONDON go on general sale on Friday, February 2 at 10 a.m. GMT via AXS and Ticketmaster.
Author’s take
This is a fascinating match-up for Jimi and while it’s not the one that many fans would’ve been hoping for, it certainly gives him a great opportunity to get back in the W column against a man he’s already defeated.
