Jimi Manuwa Hangs Up His Gloves Following UFC Stockholm Head Kick KO Loss!
Aleksandar Rakic “Cro Copped” Jimi Manuwa in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 11 last Saturday. Brutal left high kick ended the bout after only 42 seconds.
It was Jimi’s fourth loss in a row. Before Austrian 205-pound prospect, Manuwa was stopped by Thiago Santos, Jan Blachowicz, and Volkan Oezdemir.
It seems painful defeats were too much for the Nigerian-born Brit. Jimi Manuwa decided to end his MMA journey. Read his Instagram statement below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BySWuHCBjJb/
“I came to London from Nigeria when i was 10 yrs old in 1990. I grew up in south London and had crazy teenage years filled with fights and life lessons. In 2006 i was 26 years old and i discovered the ufc while flicking through the sports channels late at night , it immediately captured me , the likes of rampage jackson, tito ortiz , randy couture , shogun were my favourite fighters and i became a fan instantly. i’d never set foot in any martial arts gym in my life and neither didn’t have any plans to.
In 2008 i was 28 years old and i said to myself that i’m gonna fight for the ufc. i got off my sofa and started training muay thai and bjj , i had no martial arts experience but i was a tough cunt from south london. Martial arts immediately put more structure and discipline into my crazy life and helped me become a much better person than i was previously. I had my first pro fight after 2 weeks training and i won. within the first 2 years i was uk number 1, but the goal was to fight for the ufc. I won all my fights by ko and in 2012 i accepted a ufc contract after turning them down twice with an 11-0 record all knockouts. Ive had a great martial arts career and the last 4 fights have been tough losses to take not only for myself but for my family who is always first, ive given out a mostly knockouts and taken a few myself , that’s my fan loving style but it takes a toll on the body especially concussions which are not visible to the eye i’ve met a lot of great people along the way and travelled the world but it’s time to leave this chapter and on to the next one because there’s a life after fighting and i feel it’s my obligation to give more to combat sports which i love dearly outside of fighting.
Thank you @danawhite and the @ufc for letting me showcase my skills and thank you to all my coaches and training partners who have helped and taught me along the way , much love to the fans and last but not least much love to my dear family who together we made this dream a reality. Jimi POSTERBOY Manuwa PB1 🦁
… stay tuned” – Jimi Manuwa on Instagram
Jimi Manuwa (17-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) earned KO/TKO victories over Corey Anderson, Ovince Saint-Preux, Ryan Jimmo, Cyrille Diabate, and Kyle Kingsbury.
What are your thoughts on this? Will Jimi Manuwa change his mind? If his decision is final, congrats on the fantastic career!