UFC 214: Great Britain's Jimi Manuwa confident of ending the in-form Volkan Oezdemir's win streak

Manuwa has been preparing to face light-heavyweight contender Oezdemi, but could yet find himself facing Daniel Cormier or Jon Jones in the main event

Manuwa will be fighting in the United States for a second time this weekend (Josh Hedges/ Zuffa LLC)

British UFC light-heavyweight prospect Jimi Manuwa has insisted that he has no concerns stepping up to fight either Jon Jones or defending champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 this weekend, as he prepares for his main card bout with Volkan Oezdemir.

Jones first beat Cormier at UFC 182 in December 2015, but was subsequently stripped of his title because of his involvement in a hit-and-run incident, with Cormier defeating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 to claim the light-heavyweight belt.

Cormier then withdrew from a slated rematch at UFC 197, before Jones was pulled out of another attempted rematch at UFC 200 because of a failed drugs test.

The rematch – which has been rescheduled three times in all – is now due to take place at UFC 214 this Saturday, although an understandably Dana White has included Manuwa on the fight card in case either Cormier or Jones fails to make it into the Octagon for a second time.

It’s a tough situation for Manuwa, 37, to find himself in. Prepare exclusively for a fight with the relatively unknown Oezdemir and he risks finding himself a rabbit in the headlights if he suddenly finds himself locked in the Octagon with either the defending champion or one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. But concentre too much on what is ultimately a hypothetical situation, and he risks fluffing his lines against his given opponent.

Manuwa could find himself up against either Jones or Cormier (Getty)

Not that Manuwa is too worried. “Of course it would be a big chance, being a part of the main event,” he tells The Independent. “But to me a fight is a fight and I am ready for anyone. I have a great team and we’ve been training everything, so it really doesn’t matter who I’m fighting.

“I could be fighting Jones, Cormier or Oezdemir – but it is all fighting. It is punching, kicking, wrestling, take-downs, jiu-jitsu and everything else. It is always going to be an MMA fight and I am always going to be ready for anyone.”

Oezdemir has a professional record of 14-1 (Getty)

In the meantime, Manuwa has to prepare himself for a fight with Oezdemir, who isn’t one of the UFC’s household names but is nevertheless a dangerous opponent. He outpointed Ovince Saint Preux on his UFC debut and knocked out Misha Cirkunov just 28 seconds into the first round last time out, rising from an unranked outsider to fifth in the UFC’s light-heavyweight rankings in just two fights.

He’s confident, too. “First, I’m going to beat Jimi Manuwa, and then my goal is to be the fastest guy to ever rise to the belt,” the kickboxer said on the UFC’s press day ahead of the fight. “I hope with a good knockout of Jimi, I’ll be fighting for the belt next.”

Manuwa has experience on his side, though. Not only is he ten years older than his opponent, but he has also fought in the UFC on six more occasions, first fighting for the promotion in September 2012.

Manuwa made light work of Anderson at the O2 (Getty)

“He is going to pose absolutely nothing that I haven’t already seen before,” adds Manuwa. “I have a lot of experience fighting people of his style and I have brought in some really good, quick kickboxers into my training camp to prepare for his style.

“And don’t forget that I kick as well. Kicking is one of my main weapons, in fact. So I really don’t think he’s going to pose any threat that I haven’t faced before in previous fights that I have won. I come from a kickboxing background myself so I’m confident.”

For Manuwa, the fight will culminate a relentless few months in the sport. He headlined UFC London in March, where he knocked out Corey Anderson to reassert his title credentials, before starting his training for the Oezdemir bout just weeks later.

“It seems to have been a harder training camp than most. It seems harder,” he admits. “The last few weeks have been hard and I have missed my children – I have been away from home a really long time now and my coaches have been killing me. I am going to need a rest after this because I haven’t stopped all year.

“But it has been good and I have learnt a lot. And now I am just looking forward to the fight. I’m looking forward to releasing all of my rage and I see it playing out how I always see it playing out: by knockout.”

Watch Manuwa in action at UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2 live on BT Sport 2 from 1am BST on the morning of Sunday, July 30th, or catch the Early Prelims from 11:30pm BST on Saturday, July 29th.