Jan Blachowicz lukewarm on Jimi Manuwa trilogy after UFC-London win, still wants 'Shogun'

LONDON – The score is now 1-1 between Jan Blachowicz and Jimi Manuwa.

And it sounds like Blachowicz (22-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is fine leaving it that way after avenging a decision loss to Manuwa (17-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) with a unanimous-decision victory at UFC Fight Night 127.

Asked whether he’d accept an immediate rubber match with Manuwa, Blachowicz’s hand didn’t exactly shoot up.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Blachowicz said at the event’s press conference, which took place Saturday at The O2 in London after the UFC Fight Pass-streamed fight card. “If the UFC wants to do this, why not? But we’ll see what happens.”

A lot of MMA observers wondered why the two were even put together a second time – least of all Manuwa, who won decisively the first time they met. But Blachowicz got the chance to avenge a loss, and he passed the test with flying colors.

With that accomplishment under his belt, Blachowicz returned to an old request for his next opponent: Mauricio Rua.

“I always say the same: ‘Shogun,'” he said. “I would like to fight against him, because he’s a legend. I think my style and his style would make a really good fight.”

Blachowicz had called out Rua (25-10 MMA, 9-8 UFC) after snapping a two-fight skid this past October. Instead, he wound up fighting Jared Cannonier and picked up a decision win.

Earlier that month, Rua underwent yet another knee surgery, which could explain why he wasn’t available.

Manuwa initially gave Blachowicz a run for his money in their second meeting. But Blachowicz began to take over after rocking Manuwa with a well placed counter late in the first, and Manuwa wasn’t able to hurt him again.

“My game plan was to impose my game plan on him, not him impose his game plan on me,” Blachowicz said of the difference between his first and second meetings with Manuwa. “I did it. Maybe not 100 percent, but 40 percent I did my game plan.”

Whether it’s a rubber match with Manuwa or a dream fight with Rua that comes next, Blachowicz doesn’t want to think about his career for a while. A vacation is next after three UFC bouts in five months.

With $50,000 dollars in his pocket courtesy of a “Fight of the Night” bonus, the 35-year-old Polish fighter has some extra money for his trip.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 127, check out the UFC Events section of the site.