Jimi Manuwa: If it’s a boring fight at UFC London, it will be Jan Blachowicz’s fault

Jimi Manuwa insists that Jan Blachowicz will be the man to blame if their UFC London rematch doesn’t thrill the masses on Saturday night.

Their initial 2015 meeting at UFC Krakow certainly didn’t set the world on fire. “Poster Boy” accused Blachowicz of “running” during their first tussle. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Pole employs similar tactics on Saturday despite Blachowicz coming out of their first clash with on the wrong side of decision.

“I probably will have to change my game plan from the first fight,” said Manuwa at Thursday’s media day. “He was running throughout the first fight and it was very frustrating. I don’t know what his game plan is going to be this time, honestly.”

Manuwa expects Blachowicz to look to take the fight to the ground, but he is confident that it won’t stop him from bringing finality to The 02’s co-main event this time around.

“If I comes forward he’s going to feel the full force of my arsenal,” Manuwa said.

“He’ll probably try and take me down, and if he does, he’s going to meet elbows and knees. I don’t know what his game plan is going to be, but I know what my game plan is going to be and he’s going to get finished.”

The Londoner wants to make it three knockouts in a row on U.K. soil on the back of his stoppage wins over Ovince Saint Preux and Corey Anderson. However, he does believe that Blachowicz has the potential to turn their meeting into tedious affair.

“It won’t be down to me if it’s a boring fight. I always put on an exciting fight. It will be down to him being too defensive. He’s only got a couple of options and that’s why I think he’ll try to take me down,” Manuwa said.

“He’s got to either fight or flight — he’ll either run or try to take me down. The only other option is to have a punch up in the middle of the cage.”

Although he has his doubts about Blachowicz’s strategy, Manuwa promised to deliver “destruction” to his expectant hometown crowd.

“[The fans] know what I bring to the table, and that’s destruction,” Manuwa said. “I fight like that naturally. To me a fight is a fight; it’s not a contest or a martial arts performance. It’s a fight, someone is in there to hurt you, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I think it’s going to be a knockout in the first or second.”