Na Alexander Gustafsson ook teamgenoot Jimi Manuwa met pensioen

UFC Stockholm was voor drie vechters het laatste strijdtoneel. In navolging van Alexander Gustafsson en Nick Hein heeft nu ook Jimi Manuwa zijn MMA-handschoenen aan de wilgen gehangen.

Poster Boy
Jimi Manuwa kwam de UFC binnen met een ongeslagen MMA-record van 11-0. In deze periode wist hij zich te kronen tot de Ultimate Challenge MMA Light Heavyweightkampioen. Deze titel wist hij vijf keer te verdedigen. Poster Boy begon sterk aan zijn UFC-carrière met drie opeenvolgende zeges, allemaal via technische knockout. Hierna kreeg hij zijn eerste tegenslag te verduren. Latere teamgenoot Alexander Gustafsson was in London te sterk en won via technische knockout. Manuwa herpakte zich tegen Jan Blachowicz maar verloor daarna van Anthony Johnson. Via knockouts tegen Ovince St-Preux en Corey Anderson leek Poster Boy op de weg terug, maar uiteindelijk verloor hij zijn laatste vier partijen tegen Volkan Oezdemir, Jan Blachowicz, Thiago Santos en Aleksander Rakic. Hij eindigt met een MMA-record van 17-6, UFC 6-6.

Nieuw hoofdstuk
Via sociale media kondigt Manuwa in een lang bericht zijn pensioen aan en kijkt hij uit naar het volgende hoofdstuk in zijn leven.
''I came to London from Nigeria when i was 10 yrs old in 1990,'' aldus Manuwa. ''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