Midnight Mania! Jimi Manuwa would consider changing weight classes if Gustafsson gets title shot

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Jimi Manuwa, who fights Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 214, says he will go up in weight or even take boxing matches rather than fight teammate Alexander Gustafsson for the belt.

Manuway sums up the way he sees it:

Do you know what? We don’t even need to talk about it, what if you get the belt or whatever. We’ve got an understanding on that. For me anyway, there’ll be no problem, there’ll be no problem. There’s other people to fight; the belt is what we want, but if one of us gets it, then there are other ways around it. Maybe I’ll go up or come down, or do a boxing fight, or whatever. For me, it’s no problem. It’s really no problem. We’ve got love for each other, you know? Training together is more important, and helping each other to win our fights is more important. The belt is what we want, but it’s not everything, you know?

That loyalty is significant. In a hyper-competitive sport, this is rare. We’ve seen it before, notably when Daniel Cormier himself dropped to light heavyweight rather than stay in a division where he might have to challenge Cain Velasquez for the belt. It wasn’t a loyalty Jon Jones extended to Rashad Evans. In the case where ambitions come into conflict with camp loyalties, everyone handles the situation differently. Some fighters change camps before a fight, or split coaching staff, as was the case with Tyron Woodley before he challenged Robbie Lawler.

Manuwa, who lost to Gustafsson back in 2014, is now teammates with the lanky Swede, and in his mind, changing weight classes is preferable to jeopardizing the relationship he has with Alex. If he does win against Oezdemir, Manuwa will find himself within touching distance of a title shot. The only man more likely to get the coveted opportunity (aside from a possible trilogy fight if Cormier beats Jones) is Gustafsson, who is coming off a fourth-round knockout win over Glover Texeira.

Manuwa also hates fat bullies like Daniel Cormier, who he feels is condescending. Cormier certainly seemed above it with his reply…

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