Manuwa: Cormier knows I'll 'break the rest of his face'

Whether Daniel Cormier shows it or not, Jimi Manuwa knows he's earned the UFC light heavyweight champ's respect.

"Poster Boy" has literally punched his way to title contention, having KO'd Ovince Saint Preux and Corey Anderson in his last two bouts, and while Cormier pointedly dismissed him as a legitimate threat to his title this past Saturday, Manuwa - who watched him defend the title against Anthony Johnson cageside at UFC 210 - took the taunt as a sign to the contrary.

"I think he felt the presence," Manuwa told MMAjunkie Radio this week, according to Steven Marrocco. "That’s why he forced himself to come to me. He’s the champion, and he came to me. He’s like, 'Do you want to fight?' I’m like, 'Why do you think I’m here?' I’m sitting cageside watching the fight. He felt the presence, and he knows deep down. Why would he come to me? I’m No. 4; I’m no one in the division. He knows."

Cormier ate a kick that broke his nose before tapping Johnson in the second round, and Manuwa would gladly go to town on the rest of him if given the opportunity.

"He knows I’ll break the rest of his face, as well. I swear."

Cormier's postfight belittling of Manuwa prompted the Brit to confront him backstage at Buffalo's KeyBank Center. The fourth-ranked contender intended to squash the newly formed beef - one way or another - only for Cormier to bring a nearby Kamaru Usman into the mix in an apparent attempt to defuse the tension.

Not surprisingly, Manuwa's estimation of the champ took a hit.

"Why didn’t he come over himself? He was about 10 feet away from me. He’s hiding behind his team. And I told him, 'Listen, this ain’t no MMA (expletive) sports business. I get down for real. You can’t do this big brother thing with me. I don’t suffer none of that.'"