In spoiler role, UFC Fight Night 37’s Jimi Manuwa rising above the talk

(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

LONDON – Jimi Manuwa was driving into London on his way to a club when he got the call that he’d be headlining his first UFC event.

That changed his entire outlook on the evening, he said. And no, he didn’t skip the party. He went to it, and then he went to work.

Manuwa (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on Saturday meets Alexander Gustafsson (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Manuwa (3 p.m. ET, UFC Fight Pass) at O2 Arena in his home city of London.

Manuwa is a sizable underdog with Gustafsson checking in as a 4-to-1 favorite. Making matters a little more interesting for him is Gustafsson’s fate, should he win. A victory for the Swede will get him another shot at the light heavyweight title – and a rematch with champion Jon Jones should Jones beat Glover Teixeira next month.

That leaves Manuwa playing spoiler with much of the focus on what comes next for his opponent with a win. But he said he’s past the point of worrying about what might be said about his role in Saturday’s bout.

“There’s been talk ever since I started fighting – that I’m not ready, or this, that and the other,” Manuwa told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie. “I’m numb to it now, and after all the talk, it’s going down on Saturday. I’m going to win the fight, and that’s it. I’m not buying into what he’s doing after this fight.”

Gustafsson has maintained he’s not looking past Manuwa and ahead to another Jones showdown. The two fought this past September, and though Gustafsson beat up Jones to the point the champ went to the hospital after the fight, he still came up short in a fight that many people thought he won.

That would be a mistake, Gustafsson has said, and Manuwa believes his opponent is too smart to go down that road, even if he’s not that concerned about what’s going on in Gustafsson’s mind.

“He’s a professional, so I don’t think he’s looking past me,” Manuwa said. “But I’m just a fighter, and I’ll beat who’s in front of me.”

Should that happen on Saturday, it would derail Gustafsson’s title chances for the near future. But even though an upset win for Manuwa would keep him unbeaten, it wouldn’t necessarily mean he’d supplant Gustafsson in the pecking order for a title shot of his own.

The UFC brass hasn’t promised that to Manuwa, but for him, it’s all business. He knows what he wants at the day’s end, even if he won’t ask for a crack at the belt with a win.

“I don’t call out fighters, and I don’t think I ever will,” Manuwa said. “I don’t care where I am in the rankings or anything like that – I just want a UFC belt.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 37, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.