While Jimi Manuwa used to idolize his next opponent, he now says he is ready to beat him.
The light heavyweight says he remembers when he used to sit on his couch and watched Mauricio Rua knock people out in PRIDE, but is now ready to do what they couldn’t.
Manuwa (14-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) admits he once idolized Rua (22-9 MMA, 6-7 UFC), who he will now face at UFC Fight Night 56’s main event on Nov. 8.
“He was my favorite fighter at one time,” Manuwa told MMAjunkie. “Before I even trained for the first time, I was watching him, and he was my favorite fighter. Now it’s an honor to be fighting him.”
Despite being stopped by Alexander Gustafsson in March (who he now trains with), the Englis fighter says that he is more confident than he has ever been.
“It was huge pressure for me, and I didn’t fight my fight,” Manuwa said. “I was worrying too much about the five rounds. I wasn’t aggressive like I normally am.
