Jimi Manuwa makes a confident pick for Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones fight

This July 29, in the main event of UFC 214, Daniel Cormier will attempt to defend his light heavyweight title against his fiercest rival and the only man he’s lost to: Jon Jones. Earlier that same night, England’s Jimi Manuwa will battle Switzerland’s Volkan Oezdemir in what appears to be a light heavyweight number one contender fight.

In advance of this stacked card, Manuwa spoke to FloCombat.com, and made a pretty confident pick for the main event title fight.

“I believe Jones wins the fight,” Manuwa said. “Cormier doesn’t win the fight standing up at all. Whether Jon Jones is rusty or not, Cormier doesn’t have the skill set to win the fight standing up. His best option is to try and take him down, and he couldn’t do that [the first time]. Jones has got too much takedown defense and wrestling for Cormier to take him down. 

“I think Jones has got his number. I think Jones wins the fight, whether or not he’s rusty.”

While Manuwa and Cormier have cooked up a pretty sizzling beef of their own, Manuwa says he’d also love to fight Jones – a man he considers the best fighter alive.

“That would be a great fight. I’d love to fight Jon Jones. He’s the greatest of all time in the Octagon,” Manuwa explained. “People say ‘Mighty Mouse’ [Demetrious Johnson] is pound-for-pound [the best fighter] but I believe it’s Jon Jones. He’s such a great fighter and I’d love to test my skills against him.”

“It doesn’t matter what he’s done outside. I don’t care what he’s done outside of the ring except taking performance-enhancing drugs, which I totally don’t agree with. His other activities, it is what it is. This is about fighting. It’s not about who’s the best person, to me anyways. It’s about fighting and who’s the best fighter without taking drugs.”

How do you think Jimi Manuwa would do against Jon Jones?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/4/2017.