Everyone's Hiro

Fighter profile of Hiro Manowaru by

On November 27th 2017 the world experienced two major events, the first was cyber monday where online shoppers reach to the depths of the internet to find the greatest deals available to man. The second was the mma debut of a 265lbs 18 year old kid who would later be known as Hiro Manowaru. Prior to his entrance into mixed martial arts, Hiro was a sumo prodigy from the Musashigawa stable, starting his education as a personal student of the 67th Yokozuna Musashimaru. Later on in his career he would be loaned to Bwang Jong Sr to train at The Zoo in Las Vegas and develop his fighting style. His masters in Japan wanted him back however, Hiro had discovered a taste for MMA where he now sits comfortably as the #1 Super Heavyweight fighter and rests easy in the top ten p4p tycoon ratings. 

In Hiros first ever match he went up against an 0-4 competitor in a QFC event that lasted just 23 seconds. The rush of a knockout victory sent Hiro scrambling to get another fight. 7 days after his professional debut he took on another more experienced opponent who had already showcased his knockout power. Within 2 minutes of that fight Hiro displayed an aggression that fight fans thoroughly enjoyed as he knocked out his second opponent. Hiro was sold. The mma game was different. The adrenaline, the fans screaming, and the level of knockout power he possessed he knew he was on the fast track to stardom!

With all the great things going for him it was just before Christmas in 2017 the 2-0 Japanese prodigy had a falling out with his then manager. Released from his contract, the two parted ways and Hiro began to scour the internet looking for a new but talented manager. His new found love of MMA had a grip on him and he did not want to return back to Sumo wrestling. While continuing to train in Montreal, he encountered Bwang Jong Sr. a legendary manager with a winning record including over 1,100 wins for his fighters. Bwang had taken Hiro under his wing and promised Yokozuna, Hiros sumo master, that he would help the young man develop his abilities but in the end, Hiro would be free to do as he wished. The two agreed and Hiro had begun to train with Bwang Jong Sr. 

In his first fight under his new manager BJS, Hiro shocked the audience with his third knockout victory in only 17 seconds of the opening round. Hiro and his new manager were elated. Hiro had vocalized to BJS that he desired to travel the world and fight the very best. Bwang agreed to get him fights at different companies throughout the world if Hiro kept stopping his opponents the way he had been. Another two months went by and Hiro flew with Bwang to London to take on a brown belt in Bruce Schlimen. Bruce had shocked Hiro by securing a takedown and relentlessly looking for submissions. He finally locked up an armbar and forced Hiro to tap out. It was a sad scene watching Hiro experience his first defeat and in a manner which he had no idea existed. The reality of Mixed Martial Arts being more than just slugging guys with headshots stuck with Hiro as he began to set his sights on developing his ground game at the gym. A short while later, Hiro suffered his second defeat in his career. Stunned and dismayed, Hiro began to question if he should stick with MMA or move on to something different. Was it luck that he had in the first three matches or was he truly gifted but just suffered set backs? His morale began to plunge and he found himself desolate and broken. 

Bwang Jong Sr. had a sit down with Hiro and shared with him that he had so much talent but that he was utilizing it in the wrong ways. In both losses he had he made grave mistakes which had cost him, fights that he should have won he suffered defeats in but that it would only made him a better martial artist by expanding his mind in the long run. Hiro had went on a 10 fight winning streak knocking out 9 of those opponents and winning a decision on the other. In that wild winning streak Hiro had earned his first championship belt when he knocked out Fu Leng, a fighter who was recognized for his insane knockout ability. Before he left Demolition Fight League, Hiro was recognized around the world as a top ten Super Heavyweight at just 23 years old. There appeared to be no limit above this young man's career. 

Hiro relinquished his RFL title to the dismay of the company and threw his hat in the Gamma cage. The young top ten super heavyweight had a rough start to his Gamma career losing 3 of his first 4 fights in the company, 2 of which came by knockout. Hiro became concerned that he was about to be cut from Gamma and was unsure what to do. His mindset shifted dramatically when his coaches started sharing with him about the importance of increasing his agility and striking defense. He returned to his winning ways and finally got a shot at the prestigious Gamma super heavyweight title. 

In the first title shot for Gamma, Hiro started off the fight very strong in the opening round. He was more accurate and more aggressive. It wasn't until halfway through the first round Grabber landed a nasty head kick that sliced Hiros head open. It appeared that Hiro was okay until his opponent landed a slick overhand that dropped Hiro. The audience began making such loud noise and Hiro looked absolutely disoriented! The bell saved Hiro at least until the second round. Hiro came out looking still a little out of it and Grabber dropped Hiro with a thunderous left hand. The fight was called and Hiro went home without the Gamma Title. 

Hiro returned to the Gamma cage knocking out two talented Gamma fighters and earning himself a second shot at the title. This time, things would be different. Grabber had planned to defeat Hiro in a new and different way so he pulled guard and began to look for submissions, the only problem with this was Hiro was no longer 19 and knew how to defend submissions. He advanced to side control and began to land terrorizing shots until the eyes of Grabber rolled to the back of his head. Gammas owner, Guru Corleone congratulated the youthful champ and placed the belt over his shoulder. Hiro spent all night staring at the belt and realizing the importance of not surrendering despite how bad you want to.

Since claiming the belt for the first time Hiro has won 7 of his last 8 match ups and ended most of the fights in the first round. The trilogy with Grabber saw Hiro go to the second round only to knock him out in stunning fashion. Despite who stands before him Hiro continues to find a way to land his shots and knocking out his opponents time and time again. His aggressive style and calculated striking has earned the respect and admiration of the fans earning him the beloved title of Everyones Hiro. The soft hearted former sumo prodigy is now recognized as one of the greatest to ever do it and will go down in the history books as a Hall of Famer in everyones book.

Fight fans, you can watch Hiro fight on June 26th against the Combate Champion Karim "Carnage" Johnson, a 13-1 well rounded fighter. The fight should be as entertaining as one could expect seeing the top two guys in their division go at it!

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