Johnson vs Manuwa UFC 191 takes place in Las Vegas this weekend. Demetrious Johnson will take on John Dodson for the flyweight title in the main event, but there's just as much anticipation for this light-heavyweight slobberknocker on the PPV card.
Bookies and fans alike are predicting a slim to none chance of this one going the distance with two powerful strikers slinging leather and bones at one another from the outset. Johnson has 13 knockouts amongst his 19 victories, and Manuwa has 13 (T)KOs from 15 victories. Combined that is a ratio of 76% in finishing with strikes, meaning that there's a very significant chance of concussive force being applied when they meet.
Whilst everyone can wear their purist hat and be in awe of the technical prowess of 125lbs champion Demetrious Johnson - his speed and skillset are a thing of beauty - let's not pretend that two big units gunning for the knockout isn't what really gets your inner "JUST BLEED" guy really screaming out.
But how will they do it? A fleeting look at their past performances gives us some very obvious routes to turn out the lights. Here are four you can expect to see come Saturday night.
Jimi Manuwa's left hook
Manuwa's left hook has been a savage weapon of choice since his early days on the domestic scene. He generates a tremendous amount of power from the whipping of his arm in quite a rigid fashion, combined with the torque of the hips. It's not only a fight ender, but also a great pre-cursor to other shots. He uses it to set up the right head kick as he gets his opponents dipping away from the power, and also to set up the knees.
Anthony Johnson's left head kick
This is classic Rumble, and has been since his early days. Despite the power for an orthodox fighter typically being generated more from the rear right kick, Johnson has victory after victory by greeting his opponents' chins with his left shin. For such a big man, he is very dextrous with it and can set it up well as a counter, but also pins it on to the end of his combinations beautifully, and that's where he had a lot of success. Kevin Burns, Charlie Brenneman, Phil Davis, Tommy Speer and many more have felt just what it's like to eat one of these, and from the looks of things it doesn't taste particularly appetising. Give me a sirloin rather than shin of Johnson any day...
Jimi Manuwa's knees
With a very Muay Thai type style of heavy punches and low kicks, Manuwa also intertwines some beautiful knees into his repertoire of destruction. A couple of his favourite ways include the step knee which requires no clinch but a solid punching entry, and also from the clinch with the forearm bracing the head to fend off the takedown, whilst also allowing him to force the head towards the knee for added bone to soft tissue collision. Of his UFC performances, it was Kyle Kingsbury who felt the brunt of this, but he's utilised it many times over the years, including his bloody win over Nick Chapman.
Anthony Johnson inside right hand
Not only does a powerful right hand help to tee his opponent's up for the left high kick, but it also gets the job done on its own plenty of the time. Johnson's style is not rangy and rarely does he tag people from the outside with the straight, but it is brutal when he's on the inside and there's no escaping once he's on you. A particularly useful tactic of his is to shield and stifle with his left hand simultaneously, holding out the webbed hand to control the head and allow him to connect with the right (great offensively and on the off chance he needs to defend in this position). The angles are devastating, as it comes up through the middle and then over the top with furious pace. Letting an opponent walk onto it is also a favourite, doubling the already ridiculous amount of power involved.
Anthony Johnson is powered by Jaco (who operate under Tenacity Clothing here in Europe), whilst Manuwa is Team Revgear. You can find Tenacity Clothing and Revgear on Fightstore Pro.
Who do you think will pick up the finish? Let us know via and
This is classic Rumble, and has been since his early days. Despite the power for an orthodox fighter typically being generated more from the rear right kick, Johnson has victory after victory by greeting his opponents' chins with his left shin. For such a big man, he is very dextrous with it and can set it up well as a counter, but also pins it on to the end of his combinations beautifully, and that's where he had a lot of success. Kevin Burns, Charlie Brenneman, Phil Davis, Tommy Speer and many more have felt just what it's like to eat one of these, and from the looks of things it doesn't taste particularly appetising. Give me a sirloin rather than shin of Johnson any day...
Jimi Manuwa's knees
With a very Muay Thai type style of heavy punches and low kicks, Manuwa also intertwines some beautiful knees into his repertoire of destruction. A couple of his favourite ways include the step knee which requires no clinch but a solid punching entry, and also from the clinch with the forearm bracing the head to fend off the takedown, whilst also allowing him to force the head towards the knee for added bone to soft tissue collision. Of his UFC performances, it was Kyle Kingsbury who felt the brunt of this, but he's utilised it many times over the years, including his bloody win over Nick Chapman.
Anthony Johnson inside right hand
Not only does a powerful right hand help to tee his opponent's up for the left high kick, but it also gets the job done on its own plenty of the time. Johnson's style is not rangy and rarely does he tag people from the outside with the straight, but it is brutal when he's on the inside and there's no escaping once he's on you. A particularly useful tactic of his is to shield and stifle with his left hand simultaneously, holding out the webbed hand to control the head and allow him to connect with the right (great offensively and on the off chance he needs to defend in this position). The angles are devastating, as it comes up through the middle and then over the top with furious pace. Letting an opponent walk onto it is also a favourite, doubling the already ridiculous amount of power involved.
Anthony Johnson is powered by Jaco (who operate under Tenacity Clothing here in Europe), whilst Manuwa is Team Revgear. You can find Tenacity Clothing and Revgear on Fightstore Pro.
Who do you think will pick up the finish? Let us know via and 
