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British mixed martial artist Jimi Manuwa will make his return on October 8 at UFC 204 in Manchester and he's got his eyes on making a rapid rise up the light heavyweight division.



A long-awaited return



Manuwa went through the heartbreak of having to pull out of the UFC Fight Night London card earlier this year in February when he suffered a torn bicep that required surgery. Having now done all his rehab he's now back and has the opportunity once again to fight in his home country.



"We heard the rumors about Manchester but I wanted to fight on the Hamburg card originally because my training partners are on that one," Manuwa said. "Manchester is even better for me though because it's in the UK. It's only a month later so I've just got to tone it down for a few weeks and then go again closer to the date.



"I remember the last time in Manchester I got a wicked reception when I walked out. The Manchester card is looking great at the moment and they always give a good response. They are a great fighting city in Manchester and they always like a good fight down there."



Ovince Saint Preux

At UFC 204, Manuwa will face the No. 5 ranked UFC light heavyweight, Ovince Saint Preux. The American will provide formidable opposition, but he's someone who Manuwa has always had his eye on.



"I've always kept an eye on him in the rankings, but I've always kept an eye on him because I knew we'd fight one day," Manuwa said. "He's been doing good things in my division and he's climbed his way up the rankings. It's a good fight for both me and him right now.



"He's a good athlete and one of the most explosive guys I've seen, but I'm not fearing him. To me, he's just another face I got to fight and beat"



The beast comes out at night

Fans attending UFC 204 in Manchester on October 8 will be doing so very late at night and must wait until the early hours of the morning after for the main card to start. While some fans are understandably outraged about the scheduling, Manuwa isn't sweating fighting at 3am in the slightest.



"Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a night owl," Manuwa said. "it's going to be perfect for me. I'm expecting to be fighting on the main card so that could be any time after 3am but it doesn't bother me at all. It won't affect me."



Going for the KO

One thing for sure is that fans won't want to be dozing off when Manuwa and Saint Preux enter the Octagon. Both possess knockout power and are going to be looking to make a big statement.



"Look at my record, just look at my record," Manuwa said enthusiastically. "Out of my 15 wins I've got like 13 knockouts and about 12 of them are in the first round. It's what I'm always looking for--the first round knockout."