Jimi Manuwa Makes His Prediction for Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220
Jimi Manuwa wishes he was fighting in the UFC 220 co-main event but he still has vested interest in who wins between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir.
Of course it still eats away at Manuwa that he got caught by Oezdemir in their fight last July that cost him a shot at the title, but the setback hasn’t deterred him from still chasing the winner of Saturday night’s co-main event.
While Manuwa has a score to settle with Oezdemir after their last fight, the hard-hitting British slugger still admits that if he was going to pick a winner in this matchup that Cormier still has the edge to get the job done at UFC 220.
“On paper, DC should [win] but it’s a light heavyweight fight so it only takes one shot. Volkan could catch him and put his lights out like he has with everyone else. I see DC taking it,” Manuwa said.
“I see DC wearing him down and maybe finishing him in the third.”
While Oezdemir has been dominant in his past two fights with a pair of quick knockouts, Cormier has only suffered one loss during his entire career and that came to arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time in Jon Jones.
THIS WILL BE EPIC
The talking ends TOMORROW NIGHT as @DC_MMA defends the belt vs @Volkan_Oezdemir.#UFC220 | LIVE on PPV | https://t.co/zI8TnwICbO | @DrinkBODYARMOR pic.twitter.com/VGGiPtvsJd
— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2018
Outside of that, Cormier has been virtually unstoppable while rolling through every other contender he’s faced including Oezdemir’s part time teammate Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
Manuwa definitely sees a way for Oezdemir to win but thanks to Cormier’s toughness, durability and overall mixed martial arts game, he believes the reigning champion will still walk out with that title belt.
If that’s the way the fight unfolds, Manuwa is honest enough to admit that he’s not going to get a title shot right away as he’s already booked his next fight against Jan Blachowicz at the UFC Fight Night card in London in March.
Instead of demanding a shot at the gold with a win, Manuwa says he would like to take on the loser of the UFC 202 co-main event, which means he’d get his rematch with Oezdemir assuming his prediction holds true. Then he would turn his attention towards Cormier and the light heavyweight title.
“After my fight with Blachowicz, I’m going to be going for the loser out of DC and Volkan. For now I’m concentrating on Blachowicz,” Manuwa said.
“I’ve got history with both of them. I don’t really mind who wins. I’d like to fight DC though cause he’s got the belt and I’d like to take that off him and win that way.”
