Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will say goodbye to yet another power-punching light heavyweight in the form of Jimi Manuwa, as the brick-fisted Brit recently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) by way of social media.
This probably doesn’t come a surprise to most combat esports fans, as Manuwa turned 39 back in February and is coming off four straight losses, three of them via knockout, and despite being ranked as high as No. 3 in the wold, “Poster Boy” recently dropped out of the Top 10.
“I’ve had a great martial arts career and the last four fights have been tough losses to take not only for myself but for my family who is always first,” Manuwa wrote on Instagram. “I’ve given out 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,” he continued. “Thank you Dana White and 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.”
Manuwa was hoping to get his career back on track in the UFC Stockholm co-main event last weekend on ESPN+; however, the unranked Aleksandar Rakic put him out to pasture in just 42 seconds (see it again here).
With his longtime friend, Alexander Gustafsson, also calling it quits after coming up empty in Stockholm (more on that here), the 205-pound rankings are going to experience a major shake up when the charts are updated later this week.