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WITH A nickname like ‘poster boy’ you expect big things from whomever it is attached to. Step forward Jimi Manuwa.

The 29-year-old mixed martial artists hails from Thornton Heath, south London and has only been fighting for little under a year but has quickly climbed the rankings. The light heavyweight’s record consists of four wins - three of those wins coming by the way of a knockout and one via submission.

Life could have been so much different in Manuwa. A self-confessed gym junkie, Manuwa ruptured his pectoral muscle in late 2007, while attempting to bench a total of 185 kgs.

“It was the most pain I’ve ever been through,” said Manuwa. “My chest, arm and shoulder swelled up to four times their normal size. It was mad. For the next three weeks I was in so much pain. I couldn’t sleep.”

The injury meant that Manuwa was sidelined for three months. During that time he began to go to a few shows and pick up an interest in MMA.

And the rest, as the saying goes, is history. Manuwa has since gone on to establish himself within the Ultimate Challenge UK elite.

As for his goals and aims Manuwa quite simply stated, “I hope to achieve a world title and possibly go to the UFC. When I do things I want to put my all into it to be the best. I feel like that is where I belong. But I’ve still got a lot to learn. I’ve only been doing it for under a year. I had my first fight in April and realised how much training I had to put in. After my first fight, realising how much training I needed, I got serious.”

MMA is the newest, most popular sport in the world today. A lot of money has been generated from it overseas but it has not yet been as profitable on these shores. So in order to make ends meet, Manuwa has been involved in selling cars.

“I have my own car rental company. I try to balance things. It’s good because I’ve got good partners in the car business. They understand my MMA training is important and when I’m not about they take over the business.”

Outside of the ring Manuwa cited music as a passion of his, with Giggs and Jay-Z being his favourite artists.

“I can relate so much to him (Giggs) because he doesn’t talk nonsense,” explains Manuwa. “He talks reality. I can relate to Giggs. I don’t listen to rubbish hip-hop. I only listen to proper inspirational hip-hop like Jay-Z. He’s my favourite artist. He’s a proper role model, someone to look up to.

The reason I said Jay-Z is because his drive led him to become where he is at now. He wasn’t just happy being a rapper. He’s versatile. He’s gone into business and this and that. I like him for that. He reminds me of what I want to do. I don’t want to do just one thing. You have to be an entrepreneur. You have to have a drive to do what you want to do.” As you might have imagined, the ‘poster boy’ is fully confident in his own abilities.

“When I get into the ring I feel unbeatable. I feel like that’s my world, that’s my house. There are no nerves. You’re just focusing on the person in front of you. I feel unbeatable in the ring.

“My main strength is my heart. I can’t give up. I don’t know what I prefer – standing up or on the ground. I’m comfortable with both aspects. All my fights – I’ve won on the ground. They don’t like standing with me.” As long as the Manuwa continues to perform each times he steps into the octagon it will not be long until he is recognised as a genuine poster boy for the UK MMA scene.

Published: 03 March 2009
Issue: 0

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