British light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa is relishing the thought of walking out in front of his home crowd at UFC Fight Night 107 in London, England. Yet, to say he's totally happy with his situation would be inaccurate.

Following an earlier report by FloCombat, Manuwa's co-main event tilt against Corey Anderson officially announced by UFC this morning.

On the face of things, the No. 5 ranked fighter in the division versus the No. 9 ranked  isn't all that crazy. Hearing the context and everything that Manuwa had been through in the past few months though, really gave a different perspective on how this fight came about for the man from London.

Glover Teixeira access denied

"After my last fight against OSP I wanted to keep busy so I told them I want someone ranked above me and I want a fight in December," Manuwa said, speaking exclusively to FloCombat. "There's Bader, Rumble, DC and Teixeira who are my targets. They came back and said we can give you Glover, Jan. 21. I wanted it sooner, but I said I'd take the fight because I thought it would be a great fight for everyone.

"I signed the contract and everything and then they went and scrapped the card. They then asked me to fight him in Denver, Colorado at altitude so I would've had to go to massive expense flying my team out there for month. I told them that and tried to negotiate with them, but they said no. So then I said I'd fight him on the Brooklyn card [UFC 208]. They were then considering it and I told them I really wanted to fight Glover because it makes good sense for everyone."

Unfortunately for Manuwa, that's not how it all transpired. Suffice to say, he wasn't pleased with the news that followed.

"They came back to me and said that Brooklyn was a no go," Manuwa said. "The next thing I know, Teixeira is fighting some guy that's not even in the top-15 [Jared Cannonier]. It makes zero-sense to anybody--why does that fight make sense? I don't understand it.

Ryan Bader access denied

"After that happened, I said give me Bader, it's another one that makes sense because he's ranked above me and I think it will be another good fight. They came back to me and said that Bader was a no go because of his contract situation. I was thinking, why does no one want to fight?"

Shogun access denied

But the fights Manuwa asked for and didn't get didn't end there either.

"After Bader, I then asked for Shogun," Manuwa said. "He's a warrior, he will take the fight, he's won two in a row, and I was meant to fight him a few years ago. We've not got a grudge or anything, but we have a fight we should've had a few years ago and it would be a great fight for London. He's a veteran of the sport and he's a legend.

"They came back and they said no--Shogun said no. I was just like, what the f*ck is going on here? Where is everyone? I hate calling people out and saying people's names, but now I can understand why they do it. There's way too much cherry picking going on and people that just want to hold on to their spot."

Frustrated with the light heavyweight elite

Manuwa went on to give numerous examples of instances he'd stepped up to a challenge and not backed down when the odds were against him. The emotion in his voice was of a man who wasn't happy with what had happened to him over the past few weeks, and it was understandable given what he'd explained.

"I'm a warrior and I'm a fighter, a real f*cking fighter," Manuwa said. "I'll fight anybody, just look at that I've done previous. I was ranked No. 13 or No. 14 and they gave me the fight with Alex Gustafsson and I said yes I'd fight him 100-percent--why would I ever turn that fight down?

"They then asked me to face Anthony Johnson on just five weeks notice when I hadn't been sparring, and I took that fight without hesitating--100 percent I'll take that fight. Those are my only two losses in my whole career. It gets me so angry that these people in the top five are picking their fights to keep their position."
 

Finally getting a fight

 
Finally, after all the back and forth, the UFC came to Manuwa with a fight that could happen, and it's one that's going down March 18.

"They then offered me Corey Anderson, and I said yeah straight away, let's go for it," Manuwa said. "He's a great fighter, he won TUF, he's a good wrestler and he's got good hands and everything. It's a good fight for London."

While he's at the very least content with the fight he now has booked, Manuwa reiterated his disdain at the fighters ranked above him and said that they were holding him back from his own career progression.

"Of course, it pisses me off--they are holding me back," Manuwa said. "I want to advance and I want my title shot this year and I need to take out one of the top five. If people are not willing to fight and picking other fights and stuff, I just don't know what they are doing."
 

Title shot on his mind

 
Asked how his fight with Anderson would go down at UFC London, Manuwa just needed six words.

"I'm going to blow him away," Manuwa said. "I'm not looking past Anderson. I'm training very, very hard for him--he wants my spot. When I do defend it and blow him away in two rounds, I'm going to ask for the winner of Rumble and DC. The top five had their chance. I asked for Bader, Glover and they didn't want any of it, so f*ck them.

"I want to be next in line for the title shot. I'm going to deal with Anderson and afterwards sit down and talk because it makes sense. Me and Dana have spoken already, and it's what makes sense. I asked for someone ranked above me because I want that title shot and that no[body] wanted it. No one in the division hits harder than me or Rumble. Not Cormier, just me and Rumble. I want the winner and believe me I'm going to get that title shot this year."

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