(Clearly, Kingsbu zigged when he should have zagged. / Image via Getty)
The UFC’s return to Manchester on October 26th (aka UFC Fight Night 30) is continuing its “UK vs. the World” theme with two more interesting matchups. In addition to the Bisping vs. Munoz headliner and Guillard vs. Pearson co-main, UFC officials have confirmed that Brazilian flyweight contender John Lineker will compete on the card against England’s own Phil Harris.
Lineker and Harris were originally supposed to meet at UFC 163 last weekend, but Harris had to withdraw due to a training injury, and was replaced by Jose Maria. Lineker beat Maria by second-round TKO, bumping his UFC record to 3-0. Now, the Lineker/Harris matchup has been rescheduled on the Brit’s home turf. Assuming he actually makes weight this time, an impressive win for Lineker here could clinch him a flyweight title shot.
Also on the UFC Fight Night 30 card, a light-heavyweight matchup between undefeated Nigerian-English juggernaut Jimi Manuwa and breakdancing-Canadian Ryan Jimmo is also being targeted for the event. In 13 professional fights, Manuawa has never let an opponent see the third round; his two UFC appearances resulted in a TKO win due to doctor’s stoppage against Kyle Kingsbury and a TKO win due to injury against Cyrille Diabaté.
Jimmo recently bounced back to the win column with a decision win against Igor Pokrajac at UFC 161. He’ll surely be the underdog in this fight, but he might be able to slow Manauwa’s pace with his wrestling long enough to land one big shot. If you’ve got predictions, let ‘em rip…