Jimi Manuwa: Interview

Fightkit are proud to sponsor current UCMMA World Light-Heavyweight Champion Jimi ‘The Poster Boy’ Manuwa. Manuwa 7-0 in his professional MMA career defends his UCMMA title against Reza Meldavian in a highly anticipated bout on May 8th 2010.

Jimi is always looking for an exciting finish to a fight with 6 out of the 7 professional MMA fights Jimi has had, ending via knock out. All 7 of Manuwa’s fights have finished within the distance making Jimi an exciting and dangerous fighter with a large following in the UK.

UCMMA ‘Never Back Down’ takes place in London on May 8th 2010 and will be watched by over 3000 people at the event and over 150,000 Sky Sports viewers.

Fightkit caught up with Jimi in the week before his showdown with Reza Meldavian.

FK: Jimi, your next fight is a title defence against Reza Mahdavian, how has the training been? And how do you see the fight going? What does a typical training day consist of?

Jimi: Training has been hard but great as I have been raising my game a lot recently.

I see the fight going my way as usual; my belt stays where it belongs!

I have put a lot of training in for this fight and I’m feeling unstoppable thanks to my team of coaches and training partners. A typical day consists of strength and conditioning early afternoon followed by BJJ, Thai Boxing or Boxing in the evening. It varies though according to what we are working on.

FK: How do you find cutting weight and what is your walk around weight? Does it affect your mood / temper? Which food do you miss the most?

Jimi: I’m blessed as I don’t really cut weight for fights as I don’t really ever go above 97kg, but I walk around at about 95kg so I can really eat what I want without watching my weight too much. It comes off when I train so I don’t really worry about it until the week before the fight. Right now I’m 94kg, so I’m good to go!

FK: After a long training camp which feels better 3 hard rounds before pulling off a late stoppage or a quick 30 second knock-out? Why?

Jimi: I’ve had a few 1st Round stoppages and a late 2nd Round KO. Any win is good for me. It’s always good to get a quick KO but it’s nice to put on a good fight for the fans and finish with a KO like I did against Luke Blythe, but if the opportunity comes you have to take it.

FK: How did you get started in MMA? How did your first MMA fight go?

Jimi: I got into MMA cos I knew I could fight and went to see a couple of Cage Rage Contender shows which my best friend Kym Farid used to fight at. I told him to get me a fight on a small show which was organised for a month later, so I got straight into training and went for it. I beat the guy (Tom King) in the 1st Round but it was hard! I have never looked back after that……that was 2 years ago now.

FK: Who is the best fighter you have fought and or sparred with?

Jimi: The best fighter I’ve fought……… I’m not sure cos they have all been good in different areas. Ryan Robinson was a ground specialist who has fought some great fighters like Cyril Diabate and Ian Freeman, I KO’d him in the 1st Round and that was my 5th fight. Then they threw Luke Blyth at me for my first title defence and I KO’d him in the 2nd Round. Next was Shaun Lomas, a stand up fighter who I took down and stopped in the 1st Round as well.

I’ve sparred, and still do, with some of the country’s top athletes like Tom ‘Kong’ Watson and Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley who I did a bit of preparation with for this fight. Also, I’ve been working with my mate Tim Radcliffe on BJJ, as well as lots of Pro Boxers and Muay Thai fighters.

FK: The UFC have reportedly taken on a number of top British fighters in the last few weeks, do you think this is a sign that MMA in the UK is gaining more international recognition? How long before we see Jimi Manuwa in the Octagon?

Jimi: British fighters are getting a lot of recognition now cos we are putting in the work and we have heart. I will be in the octagon soon enough and I will keep my unbeaten record when I get in there, that is my goal.

FK: You recently signed a sponsorship deal with ADX, how are you finding their shorts etc?

Jimi: ADX (click to view the ADX range Jimi will be wearing) are a great company to work with and I love their shorts, the designs are good and the functionality gives me what I need as a fighter in the fight itself and in training.

FK: Are there any sponsors you would like to thank?

Jimi: I would like to thank yourselves at www.fightkit.com for not only interviewing me, but for also sponsoring me for my fight this week. My other sponsors include; ADX as mentioned already, Bellator Gero, TSS Security, Punch Town Equipment, Engage Fightwear and Hooligans United.

FK: Thanks for your time Jimi and good look on May 8th.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 9:43 pm and is filed under INTERVIEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.