Jimi Manuwa says Thiago Santos Needs to Be Taught Some Respect

Britain’s Jimi Manuwa was scheduled to fight Glover Teixeira next month at UFC Fight Night 137 in a light heavyweight bout before injury forced the Brazilian off the card. With Teixeira’s withdrawal, Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmakers offered a replacement in the form of heavy hitting middleweight Thiago Santos which Manuwa initially declined before having a change of heart after some trash talk from Santos.

“ I offered to fight Manuwa in Sao Paulo but he declined. I get it! He is coming off 2 losses doesnt need a 3rd!!!! @ufc @ufc_brasil @canalCombate

— Thiago Marreta (@TMarretaMMA) August 15, 2018

The 38 year-old “Poster Boy” recently spoke with WHOA TV on why he didn’t originally accept the fight, and left Santos a rather grisly warning about showing respect to his fellow fighters.

“I really just wanted a higher ranked opponent than Santos,” Manuwa said. “I want to move forward, he’s only ranked number 12 as a middleweight, I saw no incentive to fight him. This kid, it seems like he’s got a lot of mouth for a middleweight. I’m going to teach him that he needs to show f–kin’ respect. I’m going to show him f–kin’ violence. […] I’m gonna bring Santos’ head back to London. I’m going to put his head on a stake and let my dogs play with it.”

Manuwa has been beaten in his last two fights, having been knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir, then losing a rematch bout with Jan Blachowicz via unanimous decision. Santos has won five of his last six, including a decision win over Kevin Holland at UFC 227 on Aug. 4.

UFC Fight Night 137 takes place at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sept. 22 and is scheduled to be headlined by the Manuwa-Santos fight.