Top 44 Jimi Manuwa Quotes

I remember being happy and a little wild kid.

I think everyone knows that I keep myself to myself and I don’t get involved in trash talk or anything else.

I like all styles of MMA, my first classes in the sport were BJJ but I prefer to stand up.

To me a fight is a fight, it’s not a contest or a martial arts competition, it’s a fight.

I can definitely get the belt. It’s something I always wake up believing every time I train.

I expect whoever gets in a UFC Octagon to put on a great show, because that’s why we’re there.

MMA has improved my life leaps and bounds.

That was one of the great moments for me, getting a knockout in front of my home crowd in London.

How I fight is what got me into the UFC in the first place.

My diet is just the normal stuff that you know is healthy – nice, clean food – meats, vegetables, fresh juices. I don’t have too many sauces, I just like really plain chicken, broccoli: all clean stuff.

I’ve never turned down a fight in my life. Ever.

My plans are to avenge my loss against Volkan Oezdemir and get the UFC title.

David Haye was the perfect opponent for me because he was a small heavyweight with a big name and we were about the same size.

As soon as I found MMA, I knew that this is what I wanted to do, and it gave me focus because I was good at it anyway, and it gave me a goal to reach. I kept winning my fights, and it’s given me a goal and a career opportunity.

I love apple crumble and custard – that’s my little treat.

I don’t think there’s anyone who strikes like me in the world.

A lot of people think they’re better than they are and it can be very hard to get found out when you come up against a good fighter, getting dominated in every single way – every area you thought you were good in.

The most important thing is to stay fresh – physically and mentally – and to also avoid injury of course.

I can’t think of any heavyweights that would match up well with me. They’re all too big.

Some fighters enjoy the limelight. I get nervous, I mess up when I’m trying to explain things, because I’m a fighter pure and simple, and not really a talker.

My earliest sporting memory is probably going judo when I was about 6 or 7 years old. My dad and my brother did it for a couple of years when I was young, in Nigeria.

I listen to my body and if I need to rest then I rest, but at the same time I’m not lazy.

When you’re in a fight camp, you’re working your body harder than normal and it’s important to still look after yourself and to relax.

That’s what it’s all about in MMA, we’re not the highest paid athletes in the world, so when you can get the big money fights you have to take them.

I’ve got big respect for Corey Anderson. He’s a great fighter, he poses a big threat.

Yeah, I call my warrior spirit the lion.

I used to fight in school. I was a rough, athletic child. I always knew I could fight and, watching UFC, I was always fascinated by it.

I like exciting fighters – Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo. I like all the great fighters, Cain Velasquez, all the champions. They’re so good at what they do. I just admire people who are good at what they do and people you can watch and learn from.

When you’re away from home for a fight camp it’s the simple things that you miss the most. For me, that’s laying on the sofa with my daughters and spending quality family time and small things like that.

I’ve learned about every aspect of MMA.

Massages and swimming are feel-good activities which are both mentally and physically relaxing.

I had lots of fun; I was in the boy scouts, I went camping. I just used to mess around like a normal kid.

But when you’re cheating against your fellow athletes, that’s something I can’t forgive.

Now I’ve got near the top, I can see the games that people play. I thought everyone wanted to fight the best, and earn title shots, but it’s not like that.

Look at my record – I always bring a finish.

I always predict a knockout. That’s what I go for, I hit to hurt.

I’m not interested in story lines or trash-talk.

I’m not really into supplements, I mostly try to get it all from my food. I take multivitamins, vitamin D – which is really important – zinc and magnesium, but that’s about it.

There’s no such thing as a lucky punch. You throw to hurt someone and if you hurt someone, job done.

I’m not one to call people out, if you look at my history in the fighting game, I’ve never called anyone out.

I’m a bit rusty when it comes to football.

On fight day, I usually have peanut butter and porridge in the morning; bananas and a nice fruit salad. Then, as the day goes on, I’ll have some carbs.

When I started fighting I’ve always thought about being a UFC champion.

Mixed martial arts has small windows of opportunity and there’s always new faces coming through, so it’s easy to forget you.