Manuwa beats Jimmo after freak injury
In a short career that spans only five years, Jimi Manuwa has grown a reputation as a dangerous man, with 13 fights and 13 finishes. His reputation precedes him now, enough that opponents change their fight style for him. Moreover, when he fights, crazy things seem to happen.
In each of his previous three bouts, opponents could not answer the bell between rounds, an oddity in itself. Against Ryan Jimmo at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz, another unusual ending.
This time, as the second round was about to end, Manuwa cracked Jimmo with a knee. Jimmo took it fine and backed up a few steps, and suddenly, unexpectedly, fell back to the mat, holding his left leg.
That was the end and Manuwa was declared a TKO winner at 4:41.
Manuwa had only seen the second round in three of his 13 pro bouts before that.
For this one, he had some trouble finding space to operate, as each time he would land a power strike from distance, Jimmo would lose to close the gap and clinch, leading to stalemates along the cage. Manuwa did good work from there with knees to the legs, but couldn’t jumpstart his usual high-octane offense.
Manuwa is now 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the UFC.
Jimmo has lost two of his last three, falling to 18-3. He could not leave the cage under his own power and had to be helped to the back by his cornermen.
