Since winning the UCMMA Light Heavy weight title in 2009, Jimi Manuwa has garnered huge interest from the world’s premier promotions, but has declined all offers in order to further his skills. When the UFC came knocking prior to UFC 138, Jimi again refused their advances, and opted first to fight for BAMMA against Anthony Rea. After winning in exciting fashion, Manuwa made up his mind and decided to finally sign with the UFC. He will be debuting against AKA’s Kyle Kingsbury on UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham on September 29th.
The 32 year old Manuwa came to MMA from a troubled past — he was imprisoned for robbery in 2003. In 2011, he discussed those troubles with The Croydon Advertiser, explaining that he ran with a bad crowd who, “just wanted money and to have stuff, but rather than work you just wanted it fast.” In addition to robbery and burglary, his penchant for getting into scuffles got him “banned from Croydon nightclubs.” For his part, he does feel remorseful for the effect that his behavior had on his family.
Following a weight lifting injury in 2007, Manuwa turned to MMA as a way to both rehabilitate his injured chest and alleviate his anger. Since then, Manuwa has won 11 straight fights, and from fight to fight, his evolution as a mixed martial artist has been outstanding. In the beginning of his career, Manuwa depended on his brute strength and power to knock out his opponents, but now he uses a mix of footwork and technical striking to render his opponents unconscious.
Here are the top performances from his UCMMA days:
Against Reza Meldavian on May 8, 2010:
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Against Valentino Pestrescu on August 7, 2010:
