Jimi Manuwa Respects UFC Fight Night 37 Stoppage, But Felt He Could Continue Fighting
No. 11-ranked UFC light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa took on a mountain of a challenge when he faced No. 1 Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of yesterday’s (March 8, 2014) UFC Fight Night 37 from London, England.
It was a challenge that he ultimately failed, but the “Poster Boy” proved he was a resilient fighter willing to face anyone. A brutal second round knee and a few uppercuts from “The Mauler” had Manuwa on the mat eating shots, but he spoke up after the fight Pass-aired event to declare his thoughts that the fight could have been allowed to continue:
“I thought the fight was going well, and there was a flash knockdown. I felt I could carry on, but I respect the referee’s decision, and I’ll come back stronger. Alex, he’s a great fighter. He’s No. 2 in the world. I felt good out there, but obviously it didn’t go my way. It is what it is.”
In a year that has seen some questionable stoppages in big fights, namely UFC 169’s Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber and UFC 170’s Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann bouts, yesterday’s main event was not brought up in the same light. Manuwa respected referee Marc Goddard’s call despite disagreeing with it.
He also earned ,000 for his part in the “Fight of the Night”-winning bout, along with the high praise of his boss, UFC President Dana White:
“It was the ‘Fight of the Night’ on a card with a lot of great fights,” White said. “I thought he looked awesome. Like you said, he got out of a submission, was going toe-to-toe. Both guys were going for the finish. It was a great fight.”
Manuwa shouldn’t lose much, if any, footing in the rankings after taking on one of the best fighters in the world. The 34-year-old “Poster Boy” can probably defeat all but the best UFC light heavyweights, but he may be running out of time to make a legitimate title run, especially with a suddenly crowded title scene.
Manuwa deserves a ton of credit for taking the fight in the first place, yet there’s not much doubt he was finished against Gustafsson. Do you agree? And, what’s next for the heavy-hitting Manuwa?
