Jimi Manuwa is kicking off the UFC 214 pay-per-view card when he fašøces top 15 ranked light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir.
A win over ļ潚ļæ½Oezdemir could get Manuwa a shot at UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, whom Manuwa calls a fat wrestler.
āF-ck Daniel Cormier. Heās a f**king fat wrestler and I donāt really give a s**t what he says. Everyone says heās a nice guy but I donāt really like him. He seems to me like a bully and I donāt like bullies. Heās got the belt, heās a great fighter and everything. I respect him for that but as a person I donāt really like him. I donāt like his attitude towards other fighters. He kind of looks down on people and stuff. So I donāt really respect him and I donāt believe he will get out of round two with me,ā Manuwa saidĀ to .Ā āI think his last fight with [Anthony] āRumbleā Johnson, Rumble let him off lightly. I believe that Rumble made huge mistakes in that fight and he probably knows it himself. Thatās not the way to fight a wrestler or someone like Daniel Cormier. I wonāt be making those mistakes against Cormier if I fight him. So f**k Daniel Cormier and for now Iām just focused on Volkan and weāll cross that bridge after I beatĀ Volkan Oezdemir.ā
Manuwa could have been faciną·“g Cormier ź§for the gold at UFC 214, but the champiošn opted for a rematch with Jon Jones instead.
Despite his dislike ź¦«for Cormier, the Britishź§ striker wants everybody to know that he is fully focused on Oezdemir.
āItās been said but my focus has been fully on Volkan Oezdemir. Iām so focused on him, I think about him every day. I think about him in training. I think about him when Iām tired. Iām fully focused on him. But to me, I donāt see names, I just see bodies. Iāve just got an opponent and Iām training for him. Whether it be Volkan Oezdemir, whether it be Daniel Cormier, whether it be Jon Jones, whoever. Iāve just got an opponent and Iām training for him. So it doesnāt really matter who Iām fighting,ā says Oezdemir.
UFC 214 takes place on Saturday, July 29 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with Daniel Cormier and Jon Jonesš» headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-sāhow podcast to follow.