Ultimate Fighter 16 alum Jon Manley has won two straight since his exit from the UFC at the beginning of 2013 and he is coming off a submission win at CES MMA 27 against Brett Oteri.
Manley (9-2) got off to a good start in the fight against Oteri, but had to weather a storm after being clipped by a big punch. He was able to recover and scored a keylock submission in the second round.
It was his fourth career win by submission and he will return to the cage next month at CES MMA 29 as he will meet Matt MacGrath in a welterweight bout. After watching footage of his opponent, Manley knows the type of opponent he is facing on June 12 in Rhode Island.
“From what I can see from videos and stuff, very good jiu-jitsu,” Manley told The MMA Report. “Big ground and pound. I know he is a wrestler and judo guy. He likes hip throws and stuff. He is going to come in and try to bring it. He does have pretty good ground and pound with big shots. I am pretty confident on if he takes me down and puts me on my back, I am not really scared there. I am a jiu-jitsu guy too. I am going to be punching him on his way in.”
When you look at the professional record of Manley, you will see that he has four wins by submission and five by decision. He would love to score a victory by knockout, but the most important aspect for him is to walk away with the victory.
“I really want to knock somebody out,” he said. “Obviously, that would be awesome to knock him out in ten seconds or something. I am not just going to look for the knockout. I am a full fighter. I can submit him. I can knock him out. What ever happens, I just want to win.”
CES MMA 29 will be headlined by a welterweight title bout as Chuck O’Neil will defend the 170 pound title against Dominique Steele. Just like Manley, O’Neil is an alum of The Ultimate Fighter and both guys are looking to get back to the UFC. Manley feels that he will eventually met O’Neil in the cage, but would prefer the fight to happen in the UFC octagon.
“I definitely want to fight him. I kind of want to fight Chuck in the UFC. If it happens before then, it happens before then. I really like him. He is funny and a good fighter. I know we are going to fight someday. It’s going to happen. Probably soon.”
How close is Manley to a UFC return? Could a win over MacGrath get him a call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva?
“I think if I get another two impressive wins, I think I will be close. I finished Oteri and if I finish a couple of other guys, I think I should be really close or there.”