Former UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa admitted that he slapped his former opponent, Aleksandar Rakic.
The pair clashed at UFC London last weekend. Manuwa stated that he had previously informed Rakic of his intentions if they crossed paths.
With a record of 17-6, Manuwa retired from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts following his defeat to Rakic back in 2019.
Currently ranked number three in the UFC light heavyweight division, Rakic is coming off a defeat to Jan Blachowicz.
The bout ended in a doctor’s stoppage due to Rakic suffering a serious knee injury.
Rakic took to social media to say that Manuwa had ‘sucker-punched’ him during a verbal spat at the O2.
With that being said, Manuwa stated that he didn’t sucker-punch Rakic, but admitted that he did slap him.
Jimi Manuwa States That He Did in Fact Slap Aleksandar Rakic
Speaking to BJPENN.com, Manuwa said: “It wasn’t a sucker-punch, we were face-to-face and I slapped him (Aleksandar Rakic) and he moved away and did nothing. The security came at the end of it, and I didn’t make a scene. I told him I was going to slap him when I saw him and that is what I did…”
“He was walking past and I said to him, ‘What are you saying now? And he was acting all confused. He tried to keep walking so I slapped him and he was like a fox in the headlights. He didn’t say anything after.”
Over the years, Jimi has lost to some real top contenders. However, he states that he has always had good relationships with former opponents.
“The fight is the fight, it’s not the first time I’ve lost,” Jimi Manuwa said. “I’ve lost to ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Gustafsson, Oezdemir, I lost to Blachowicz and we are all friends now. I text them every now and then to check in and we are all respectful. Rakic, I don’t know what it is. I got asked by a fan what fight do I want back and I said this one with Rakic because I feel like I didn’t get to show my real skills.
“He came back and said, ‘Oh, I knocked you out, do you need some money off the 50 bags I earned?’” Jimi Manuwa stated. “Or he sends stuff he bought and says he bought it using the money he got from knocking me out. Just being proper disrespectful and I said to him, ‘When I see you keep the same energy’. And that’s it. I just had to give him what he deserves for acting like a troll and a keyboard warrior online.”
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
