Left hand starting to feel right for UFC contender Jimi Manuwa

His left hand is becoming just as dangerous.

Manuwa dropped Corey Anderson with a left hook that ended the main event of UFC Fight Night 107 in London on Saturday at 3:05 of the first round.

As Anderson circled along the cage away from Manuwa’s right hand, Manuwa crushed him with a left hook right on the jaw.

Anderson crumpled to the ground as Manuwa just walked away and waited for the referee to step in.

It was a similar finishing blow to the one Manuwa delivered to Ovince Saint Preux in October.

“The left hook is always the shot,” Manuwa said. “One shot, one kill.”

After his second straight highlight-reel knockout, Manuwa used the occasion to lobby for a title shot. He was mostly pleased just to get a win in a main event in his hometown.

“That was one of the great moments for me, getting a knockout in front of my home crowd in London,” he said. “This is going to be one of the highlights of my career. The crowd was amazing tonight. I soaked it all in as I walked out and when I got into the octagon. The fans were just so supportive. That’s the best crowd I’ve ever fought in front of.

“I think it’s only right that we have another British champion.”

It wasn’t all good for the home fans on Saturday.

Bantamweight Brad Pickett was knocked out by Marlon Vera head kick in the third round of his retirement bout.

While Pickett, who was actually up 20-18 on two scorecards after two rounds, was disappointed in the outcome, he remains confident in his decision to walk away at 38 years old.

“I’m so grateful for all the support over the years, it means so much to me,” he said. “I do feel some sense of relief, though, and I’m glad I announced that I was retiring before I went in there tonight. It’s over and I’m ready for the next step. It’s the right time in my life to step away from this sport. I owe everything to the fans. I don’t call them fans though; I call them friends and I have time for all of them. I owe it all to them.

Pickett left his trademark hat that he has worn during walkouts throughout his career in the cage after the fight.

“I leave behind my heart and my soul and as the token, I left my hat,” he said. “I owe it all to the UFC for giving me the platform to perform. It was electrifying in this arena tonight and I’m sorry it wasn’t the fairytale ending that everybody desired but I’m happy.”

Also on the main card, Gunnar Nelson returned from 10 months out of action for a dominant submission victory over welterweight Alan Jouban.

Nelson rocked Jouban early in the second round and locked in a tight guillotine as Jouban struggled to regain his senses.

“I feel really good,” Nelson said. “I was expecting him to try some of his takedowns but he didn’t cause me too many problems. I want to go home, start training again and keep on improving. Hopefully I can have two more fights this year and get another good opponent, one of the top guys. Who knows what will happen after that?”

Featherweight prospect Arnold Allen remained unbeaten in the UFC with a split-decision win over Makwan Amir and lightweight Joe Duffy, who has a pre-UFC win over Conor McGregor, earned a unanimous-decision victory over Reza Madadi.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.