Alexander Gustafsson vs Jimi Manuwa Should Determine Next Light Heavyweight Contender

Jimi Manuwa UFC

Image via Manuwa’s Facebook Profile

Ever since Alexander Gustafsson lost his opponent, Rogerio Nogueira, fans were speculating on who the replacement was going to be. Today, the UFC announced that Jimi Manuwa is going to take Nogueira’s place, which has the makings to be an excellent light heavyweight bout. The winner could be next in line to fight for the title, which is currently being held by Jon Jones.

Coming into this bout, Gustafsson is looking to get back on the winning track in hopes of getting another title. He faced Jones in his latest outing, which was one of the greatest fights ever put on in the UFC. Gustafsson took Jones to the brink, and some felt he did enough to get the decision. An amazing thing about the bout was how successful Gustafsson was at defending the takedown, and he would even score a takedown of his own. Gustafsson is one of the best light heavyweights in the division, and he has the chance to prove this with a win over Manuwa, who has a lot of hype behind him as of late.

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Manuwa comes into this bout with an impressive record of 14-0. Surprisingly, all of his wins have been finishes, whether it be by submission, TKO or KO. This is just a testament to the type of power and striking technique that Manuwa possesses, and he is currently 3-0 in the UFC. Gustafsson will be his toughest test to date, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he deals with the size and length of Gustafsson.

It should be an excellent fight for the fans, which will take place March 8, 2014.

Jeremy Green is a MMA and NFL contributor at RantSports. You can follow him on FacebookTwitter, or Google Plus.


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