Jimi Manuwa is kicking off the UFC 214 pay-per-view card when he faces top 15 ranked light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir.
A win over Oezdemir could get Manuwa a shot at UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, whom Manuwa calls a fat wrestler.
“F-ck Daniel Cormier. He’s a f**king fat wrestler and I don’t really give a s**t what he says. Everyone says he’s a nice guy but I don’t really like him. He seems to me like a bully and I don’t like bullies. He’s got the belt, he’s a great fighter and everything. I respect him for that but as a person I don’t really like him. I don’t like his attitude towards other fighters. He kind of looks down on people and stuff. So I don’t really respect him and I don’t believe he will get out of round two with me,” Manuwa said to MMA-Panelen. “I think his last fight with [Anthony] ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Rumble let him off lightly. I believe that Rumble made huge mistakes in that fight and he probably knows it himself. That’s not the way to fight a wrestler or someone like Daniel Cormier. I won’t be making those mistakes against Cormier if I fight him. So f**k Daniel Cormier and for now I’m just focused on Volkan and we’ll cross that bridge after I beat Volkan Oezdemir.”
Manuwa could have been facing Cormier for the gold at UFC 214, but the champion opted for a rematch with Jon Jones instead.
Despite his dislike for Cormier, the British striker wants everybody to know that he is fully focused on Oezdemir.
“It’s been said but my focus has been fully on Volkan Oezdemir. I’m so focused on him, I think about him every day. I think about him in training. I think about him when I’m tired. I’m fully focused on him. But to me, I don’t see names, I just see bodies. I’ve just got an opponent and I’m training for him. Whether it be Volkan Oezdemir, whether it be Daniel Cormier, whether it be Jon Jones, whoever. I’ve just got an opponent and I’m training for him. So it doesn’t really matter who I’m fighting,” says Oezdemir.
UFC 214 takes place on Saturday, July 29 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
