I had witnessed shootings of people since I was a young child, but MMA showed me another way.

Jimi Manuwa: In Kingston, Jamaica, I was born. Now that I reflect, it was indeed poverty. In the neighbourhood where I grew up, my father was the leader of the gang, but our home resembled a wooden shack with a zinc roof. Although we didn’t have much, you didn’t notice it as a child because everyone around you shared the same circumstances. Both the man down the road and my next-door neighbour shared the same circumstance.

But from what I can recall, I had a good childhood. My father sent us things like money, clothes, and toys when he first arrived in the UK, in London. My parents did everything they could to ensure that I had a happy childhood, so everything was fine. I had some unpleasant memories of my upbringing. Had grown up around firearms and seen shootings, but I also have good memories of Jamaica. I was a content child.

When I was eight or nine years old, some time after my father moved to London. He sent for my mother and my younger brother Fabian. He then transported the three of us to Birmingham, where we spent roughly three years living in Aston and attending Aston Manor School before relocating to Erdington. That’s where I was born, raised, and grew up.

What was the enviroment?

The Johnston Crew and the Burger Bar Boys were the two biggest gangs. All of the children’s elder brothers were members of a gang when you got to school. You had to walk by the parks and all the gang members to get to your bus stop so you could take the bus home. You might experience a robbery or have your phone taken from you, among other things.

One of those situations where either you fall victim to the gangs or you defend yourself by joining one. Which causes all of your pals to join one as well. Although I wouldn’t say it was inevitable, if you weren’t in a gang, it would be difficult for you to succeed in school. Someone may have been stabbed in my first year at school, I believe.

But because I was raised in Jamaica, where stabbings were the least of my concerns. I could kind of relate when I moved to the UK and experienced that kind of culture. I was accustomed to being around gangs and bad actors. So this was what I experienced. Being in the environment I grew up in, it was a natural path for me to take.

Jimi Manuwa: growing up

When I was 13 years old, my father was slain in London. My mother called to report he had been shot while I was in bed. From there, this rebellious part of mine emerged. Your father is slain, you don’t have a father figure at home… That, along with following my buddies and getting into mischief, I believe was the primary turning point that led me to begin delving deeper and deeper into gang life. What else might I try? I spent my entire childhood living in this world.

My sibling was also acting in the same manner. Despite the fact that we never had a conversation about it, he simply mimicked whatever I did. In my neighbourhood, a small MMA gym named UTC was being constructed when I was 16 or 17 years old. One day when my mother and I were passing, she casually remarked, “You should try this.” Even though it wasn’t open yet, I understood that she was saying it to prevent me from loitering around the streets and getting into mischief.

She signed me up; the monthly payment was about £60. She managed to find the money despite the fact that I knew she couldn’t afford it. I was steadfast in my commitment to her, and the more I did so, the more I came to appreciate it. The more I liked it, the more it discouraged me from remaining there.

What happend when Jimi Manuwa started MMA?

MMA changed the course of my life and led me down a different road. I began to interact with various, new people. Your brain becomes more open to potential opportunities after doing that. When you’re a small child, all you can think is “criminal, criminal” because all you can see is badness all around you. Your brain is not yet fully matured to be hooked to many opportunities. MMA opened up my mind for me in that way. I was able to stay on course because of that.

People telling you that you’re good, capable of doing this, or sick. When you are a child and receive that type of attention and encouragement, you are motivated to work more and keep getting better. You want to visit there daily. If you persevere, you can make it to the UFC, many were saying. Everyone was pursuing the same dream and speaking constructively in what felt like a family environment. I was motivated to continue.

My family, especially my young son, is what drives me most. He is eight years old, I have briefly discussed my early years with him, he has visited Jamaica and seen where I used to live, but I haven’t gone into great detail about what happened to his grandpa. I simply want to provide him a better life than I did as a child.  Never want my son to fight because I want to be able to provide for him in life. I want to offer him the freedom to make decisions and live his life as he sees fit.

The results

Naturally, becoming a world champion from the UK is one of my other primary objectives. I want to accomplish this goal while continuing my training there and return the favour to MMA for all it has done for me. Would dearly love to do it for the UK children. I could say a lot if I did it. People would argue that they didn’t need to relocate to America because Leon did it and lives in Birmingham. They might feel compelled to reach out and touch it.

Along with Darren Till and Jimi Manuwa, I founded a foundation that will shortly launch in cooperation with the UFC. I simply want to return to my roots and help the young people who are going through a similar upbringing. There are a lot of youngsters like me who come from shattered homes and the streets. One of my primary motives and one of the reasons I work so hard is to assist the children of Birmingham, located in the UK.

Jimi Manuwa one of the top 11 MMA fighters in the UK .