Daniel Cormier doesn’t sound too worried about Jimi Manuwa’s rise.
Last night (April 8), Cormier successfully defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title against Anthony Johnson in a rematch. The bout served as UFC 210’s main event. Like the first bout, Cormier locked in a rear-naked choke and walked away with gold.
After the fight, the champion launched a verbal assault at Jimi Manuwa. Cormier said he recognizes the “Poster Boy’s” ascension, but doesn’t give him much of a shot at knocking him off his perch (via MMAFighting.com):
“He’s a tough guy. He punches hard. I like his little thing, ‘One shot, one kill.’ It sounds cool. He wears sweatsuits. A guy that wears sweatsuits is pretty cool. But Jimi Manuwa can’t do me anything. Dude’s done. Jimi Manuwa would be lucky to get out 10 minutes. Seven minutes. I would demoralize him. Of course I’d fight Jon Jones but Jimi Manuwa said that he wants a title fight. He’s won a couple of fights in a row and looked impressive. I think he’s a good fighter but it kinda depends on what they do with Jones. If Jones wants to fight somebody first then I guess that’s what they’re gonna do. If he’s ready to come and fight me then we would fight.”