Jimi Manuwa defends home turf anew
FOR the second straight time, British fighter Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa gave England mixed martial arts fans much to cheer about after he knocked out American Corey “Overtime” Anderson in their headlining light heavyweight encounter at “UFC Fight Night 107” at the O2 Arena yesterday.
Showing the ferocity that has allowed him to move inside the top five fighters in the division, Mr. Manuwa (#4) made short work of Mr. Anderson (#6), fashioning out an impressive KO win in the opening round of the Ultimate Fighting Championship offering in London. It marked the second straight time that the former made England proud following his second-round knockout win over Ovince Saint Preux in Manchester last October.
In the co-main event, Iceland’s Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson clinically beat Alan “Brahma” Jouban in a second-round submission win via guillotine choke.
Recognized as one of the top knockout artists in the light heavyweight division, Mr. Manuwa did not waste much time highlighting it some more.
The two headliners started out with a brief feeling- out period, sizing up and throwing jabs and kicks at each other.
Mr. Manuwa no sooner would make his move, stalking his opponent.
He found an opening and landed a solid left that instantly took the lights out on Mr. Anderson, who fell hard on the mat after with the victor finding no need to follow it up and walk away.
The KO win improved Mr. Manuwa to 17-2 (6-2 in the UFC) while Mr. Anderson dropped to 10-3.
With yet another convincing win, his second straight, Mr. Manuwa said he deserves a title shot.
“I want the winner out of DC (Daniel Cormier) and [Anthony] ‘Rumble’ [Johnson]. It’s time for a title shot now. I want the winner out of DC and ‘Rumble’ Johnson,” Mr. Manuwa said.
Messrs. Cormier, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, and Johnson do battle in the next UFC event — “UFC 210” in Buffalo, New York, on April 8 — for the division’s title.
Mr. Manuwa has yet to face Mr. Cormier while he lost to Mr. Johnson in their first fight in September 2015 by knockout (punch) in the second round.
FINISHING FIGHT
Meanwhile, Mr. Nelson made it two straight wins for himself in the UFC while halting opponent Jouban’s win streak in their welterweight co-main event.
Mr. Jouban was active early, bouncing around and throwing some kicks. Mr. Nelson though would find his footing and managed to take down the American fighter and angled for a triangle only for Mr. Jouban to survive it and hold on to last the first round.
In the second, Mr. Jouban was once again aggressive to start with his kicks. The two then exchanged punches. Mr. Nelson would rock Mr. Jouban with a big right then followed it up with a high kick that sent the latter down. Sensing the victory, Mr. Nelson grabbed his opponent’s neck for the choke and went for the finish, forcing Mr. Jouban to tap out.
After his victory, Mr. Nelson is now at 16-2-1 with Mr. Jouban slumped to 15-5 and saw his threefight winning streak end.
“I want to finish my fights, I don’t want to win by points. Sometimes I have to take some time, figure him out, and then go for the finish,” Mr. Nelson said in the post-fight interview in describing his game plan.
In earlier fights, Marlon “Chito” Vera won by technical knockout ( head kick and punches) in the third round over the now-retired Brad “One Punch” Pickett, and featherweight Arnold “Almighty” Allen defeated Makwan “Mr. Finland” Amirkhani by split decision (28-29, 30-27 and 30-27).
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost directto-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms.