Ronnie Mann (born 12 October 1986) is an English professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2017, Mann has mostly fought in England and Japan. Mann is a veteran of the former top English organisation

Cage Rage Championships Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

and was a quarterfinalist in the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix in 2009, losing to

Hatsu Hioki (, born July 18, 1983) is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist competing in the featherweight division. He is the former Shooto Lightweight Champion, Sengoku Featherweight Champion, and TKO Featherweight Champion. Hioki is a lon ...

Mixed martial arts career

Background and early career

Mann grew up in Cheltenham, England. Mann also idolised

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, submission wrestling, submission wrestler, kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, UFC 7 Tournament ...

and

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...

as a youngster after being introduced to the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. Mann began taking Muay Thai lessons at the age of 11 and participated in jiu-jitsu and kickboxing tournaments at the age of 13. Mann competed in his first amateur fight at the age of 16 and turned professional a year later. In Japan, he fought under the name of Ronnie Ushiwaka, his mother's maiden name.( His Mothers Maiden Name was Promlert (THAI) Mann's professional mixed martial arts career began in November 2003 with a win over Andy Dicks. A few months later, Mann made his

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

debut, at ''Shooto Holland'' where he won via triangle choke after 56 seconds. Staying in Holland, Mann won a further fight, knocking his opponent out in under two minutes. Mann then recorded five successive submission victories.

Domestic prominence

In mid-2006, Mann signed with top domestic organisation,

Cage Rage Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

and made his promotional debut at the ''Cage Rage: Contenders 1'' event against Ashleigh Grimshaw. Mann later stated that the fight was one of his toughest, especially after being hit with an early low blow. The organisation, at the time, adopted the "open guard rule," allowing fighters to stomp on each other. At the end of the third round, the fight was declared a draw, despite Mann feeling that he had the better of the fight, after a knockdown in the first round and a triangle choke attempt in the second round. Mann later joined the Cage Gladiators promotion in England and made his promotional debut at ''Cage Gladiators 2'', against Denas Banevicius, winning via submission (strikes) at 1:42 of the first round. Three months later, Mann returned at ''Cage Gladiators 3'', defeating Chris Freeborn via submission (triangle choke) at 2:46 of the first round. At ''Cage Rage 20'', in a rematch with Ashleigh Grimshaw, whom Mann had earlier drawn with, Mann controlled the stand-up and the top position on the floor. Towards the end of the fight, Grimshaw attempted a comeback, utilising ground-and-pound offense, though Mann was declared the winner via unanimous decision after three rounds. Mann's next fight (and third in the Cage Rage organisation) was against top domestic prospect, Robbie Olivier. The fight saw both fighters neutralise the other's ground game. In the stand-up, Mann was regarded as being unusually tentative, which gave Olivier the opportunity to take him to the floor, where again, neither fighter was able to advance position or do anything of note. After three rounds, Olivier was declared the winner via unanimous decision. At ''Cage Rage 24'', Mann faced Jordan Miller, who took the fight at short notice. Mann was able to take Miller down almost immediately in the fight and took a rear naked choke. Mann dominated from that point and soon after, transitioned to a triangle choke after just 53 seconds of the first round. After this, Cage Rage became defunct and Mann re-joined Cage Gladiators, immediately competing against Frederic Fernandez for the Cage Gladiators World Featherweight Championship at the ''Cage Gladiators 6'' event. Mann was able to utilise his wrestling skills again, dominating the takedowns, neutralising his opponent. Mann was able to take the unanimous decision after effective striking, leading Sherdog to once again label him "a star in the making." Mann was then scheduled to face future

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

standout

Brad Pickett Brad Pickett (born 24 September 1978) is an English former mixed martial artist. He is a former Cage Rage British Featherweight Champion. He competed as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship; Dana White stated that Pickett was ...

, though the fight was later cancelled after Pickett suffered a broken arm defending a high kick. Mann instead took a fight in Croatia, defeating Ivica Djebic via TKO (injury). Returning to Cage Gladiators at the ''Cage Gladiators 8'' event, Mann defeated Steve McCombe via submission (choke) in the first round.

Sengoku

Mann then signed with

Sengoku Raiden Championship World Victory Road (WVR) was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization which promoted the Sengoku Raiden Championship (SRC) in Japan. The organization was formed in 2007 following the purchase of PRIDE FC by Zuffa. It operated in conjunct ...

in Japan, to participate in their Featherweight Grand Prix. In the opening round, Mann faced Tetsuya Yamada and defeated him via unanimous decision (30–29, 30–29, 30–29). During the first round of the fight, Mann was able to land powerful punches, before falling into a deep kneebar attempt from Yamada. After escaping, Mann was able to gain top position to end the first round. The second round saw Yamada attempt a standing Kimura, which was fought off by Mann, who was later able to take down Yamada twice, whilst fighting off a second kimura attempt. The final round saw poor kickboxing attempts by Yamada, which was countered by two takedowns. Finally, Mann looked to utilise an ankle lock, which was reversed into another kneebar by Yamada. After the third round ended, Mann was declared the winner via decision. In the quarter-finals of the tournament, Mann faced early tournament favourite,

who had previously defeated

veteran Chris Manuel. Mann weighed in at 142.6 lbs, whilst Hioki, who was unbeaten in his last seven fights, weighed in at 143.3 lbs. Mann stated that " plan for an exciting and explosive fight." During the fight, Mann was able to land several successful punches, before Hioki took Mann down with a trip, where he was able to land knees and execute a D'arce choke. After scrambling to avoid an armbar attempt, Mann fell to a triangle choke, tapping out at 3:09 of the first round. After the fight, Mann stated "I started off well, standing up, but I fell into his game. Fell into his trap. The punches were only small punches, but it was the triangle that was slowly coming on, so in the end, I tapped." After his elimination from the Featherweight Grand Prix, Mann competed in his third fight in Sengoku against

Shigeki Osawa Shigeki Osawa (born May 2, 1986) is a Japanese people, Japanese professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight division. Mixed martial arts career Background Osawa is a training pa ...

, who

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

labelled a talented young prospect. After three rounds, Mann was victorious, via unanimous decision.

Move to North America

Mann still had one more fight left on his Sengoku contract and also expressed a desire to join

and eventually fight Featherweight Champion

José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (; born 9 September 1986), known as José Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate F ...

. Despite his contract with Sengoku, Mann went on to make his North American debut against Doug Evans on 11 September 2010 at '' Shark Fights 13''. The bout saw Mann hit Evans with multiple combinations and low kicks, before utilising a flying knee. Evans counter-attacked with takedowns, which he kept up into the final round. Mann won the bout via split decision (47–48, 48–47, 48–47) to become the new Shark Fights Featherweight champion.

Bellator Fighting Championships

On 17 February, it was announced Mann had signed with

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from '' bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellato ...

. He had his first fight for the promotion against Josh Arocho at Bellator 42. Mann was able to dominate the fight with superior wrestling and won the fight via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-27, 30-27). That win earned Mann a place in the Bellator 2011 Summer Series Featherweight Tournament where he faced Adam Schindler at Bellator 46 in his quarter final match-up. Mann stuffed all attempts from the wrestler to take the fight to the ground before he scored a stunning first round KO win with a right uppercut left hook combination which dropped Schindler before swarming on him with hammerfists to leave him unconscious on the mat. Mann faced Pat Curran in the Featherweight tournament semifinals at Bellator 47. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Mann fought

Kenny Foster Kenny Foster (born June 16, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional mixed martial artist since 2009, Foster has competed for Bellator Fighting Championship, Bellator, holding a record of 3–6 with the promotion. Mixed martial ...

Bellator 53 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

for a spot in the next Featherweight tournament. He dominated the stand-up but then got taken down which gave him the opportunity to finish via submission (triangle choke) in the first round. Mann was defeated by Mike Corey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in the Bellator Season Six Featherweight Tournament. In the first round he dropped Corey twice, but was outwrestled in the next two to lose the decision.

Cage Warriors

On 6 June 2013

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

announced that they signed Mann to a five fight deal. He is scheduled to meet Jose Luis Zapater at Cage Warriors 57. And he would go on to defeat Zapater by way of TKO (punches) in the 1st round. He next fought Marat Pekov at Cage Warriors Fight Night 9 on 25 October 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Mann faced Marcelo Costa at Cage Warriors 68 on 3 May 2014. Mann lost the fight via rear naked choke in the second round.

Championships and accomplishments

Shark Fights Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having past and present UFC fighters Jorge Masv ...

** Shark Fights Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Ronnie Living people 1986 births English male mixed martial artists Ronnie Mann Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ronnie Mann People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ronnie Mann Ronnie Mann Sportspeople from Cheltenham English people of Thai descent Thai emigrants to the United Kingdom 21st-century English sportsmen Ronnie Mann