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JIMI MANUWA Poster Boy To Defend His UCMMA Title
© Marc Wickert Special thanks to Wad Alameddine
Prior to MMA, Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa’s bag was weight training. But one day, whilst bench pressing in excess of 400 pounds for reps, Jimi felt something tear. “I suffered a rupture of the pectoral major in my chest. Really nasty injury!” says Manuwa. Then, during his three months of rehabbing, Jimi decided to channel his steam from pumping heavy iron into cage fighting, and with a lion’s determination Jimi jumped straight in the deep end. “I commenced competition after just six weeks’ training because I just knew I could do it. It was his (Tom King’s) first fight as well. I just had self belief and that self belief has stayed with me and that’s why I’ve never lost.” Part of the spoils of winning his first battle was the acquisition of a dandy nickname. “The name ‘Poster Boy’ came from the first fight in 2008 when my girlfriend saw the poster and started calling me Poster Boy, but after that I wanted to be the Poster Boy for UCMMA.”
On May 8, Jimi Manuwa 7-0 will be putting his light-heavyweight title on the line at UCMMA: Never Back Down (www.ucmma.com), and fight fans will get a chance to see why Poster Boy has everybody talking about his swashbuckling rise to the top. Jimi, I saw a picture of you with Wanderlei Silva. How did that meeting come about? “I met Wanderlei Silva at a friend’s nightclub when he was over here for a UFC event in London where Damien Maia was fighting. He’s a real nice person and gave me inspiration.” "Jimi" is a unique name. Were your parents fans of Jimi Hendrix? “Not sure about the Jimi Hendrix thing, but I don’t think I was named after him. (laughs). You've won most of your bouts through KOs and TKOs. What was it like to win one by guillotine? Did it surprise you to earn a victory that way at the time? “The guillotine didn’t surprise me to win in this way. I took it because it was there. It comes as second nature when you train and have great trainers.” Do you do much Muay-Thai training, or do you mainly use your boxing skills? “I train both Muay Thai and Boxing. It’s important to have both… Well I feel it is anyway.” How is your ground game coming along? “My ground work is good and improving every day. People don’t get to see it a lot, but trust me it’s there whenever I need it.” You've described yourself as a "petrol head". Mad Max Fury Road is expected to feature a lot of scenes with modified cars. Will you be going to see it? “Yeah, I’m a petrol head. I just bought a new GSXR 1000 bike which is my new toy. I like fast cars and bikes. I don’t really like that modified stuff though; just the German and Italian stuff… British as well.”
Who has been training you for your title defense at UCMMA: Never Back Down? “I’ve had the same trainers I’ve always had, but added more to my camp in addition. I have a new boxing coach called Alan Smith who teaches some of the country’s top boxers, which has added some new weapons to my arsenal.” Who have your training partners been? “My training partners have been great for my next fight. I did a bit with the Nottingham Rough House team with Guys like Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley who also took me boxing. I’ve been doing some wrestling with Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, Muay Thai with Alan Keddle and then my BJJ with Tim Radcliffe and the rest of the Nova Forca boys. I have a great training camp and trained with some of the UK’s finest.” Italy's Valentino Petrescu will be challenging you for your UCMMA Light-Heavyweight Title on May 8. What do you think his strengths will be? “Wherever Petrescu is strong, I am stronger! Sadly, Petrescu has pulled out of this fight due to an injury. I wish him a speedy recover so that we can rearrange the fight for later in the year. “My new opponent is Reza Mahdavian (5-2). He looks fairly tough and seems to have a decent punch on him, but to be honest, the result would have been the same whichever of them stepped into the cage with me. I will be walking away the victor!” What will your strengths be? “Simple. My strengths are everywhere: I’ve got stand up, clinch, wrestling, ground game and a strong chin, and I get better with every fight as I work really hard on improving myself.” Jimi Manuwa's sponsors? “Thanks to my sponsors. I am getting more and more all the time so a huge thank you to everyone supporting me. I know some are being worked out as we speak so thank you to them as well when they come on board: Bellator Gero (www.bellatorgero.com) who are creating my Poster Boy Signature Shirt which will be available in May ready for my fight. TSS Security (www.tsssecurity.com), ADX Apparel (www.mmaadx.com), Punch Town (www.punchtown.com), Engage Fightwear (www.engagefightwear.com), And Hooligans United (www.hooligansunited.com).” Jimi, is there anything you'd like to add? “I wanna thank God for blessing me. Thank my family for putting up with the constant training. Again, my existing and new sponsors, all my trainers and training partners too. There are too many to mention individually. Oh yeah, and my manager, Wad Alameddine, for making things happen.”
For more on Jimi Manuwa: www.poster-boy.co.uk
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