‘Anything’s Possible’ – Chase Mann’s Journey From Troubled Youth To Undefeated MMA Star
Undefeated American MMA star Chase “Mannimal” Mann is ready to prove that perseverance can overcome any beginning, no matter how tragic it may be.
The Arkansas native will make his promotional debut, live in U.S. primetime, against Australian-Tongan standout Isi “Doxz” Fitikefu in a welterweight MMA showdown at ONE Fight Night 39: Rambolek vs. Dayakaev on Prime Video on Friday, January 23.
Mann’s road to the global stage has been marked by resilience, redemption, and an unwavering belief that faith and hard work can transform lives.
From a troubled childhood in the Deep South to becoming one of America’s most promising MMA fighters, the 29-year-old’s journey embodies the power of second chances. Before he steps into Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium, we look at Mann’s path to ONE Championship.
From Trouble To Transformation
Mann, the middle child of three siblings, grew up in the heart of Arkansas, where he was surrounded by fields and farms in the small towns of Paragould and Lake City. But beneath the surface of rural simplicity, his childhood was anything but stable.
His father and mother struggled with drug addiction throughout his youth. Though they loved their kids deeply and encouraged them to play every sport imaginable, the grip of substance abuse created chaos he couldn’t control. Because of that, the Mann children split time living between their parents and grandparents’ homes.
By the age of 10, he had been arrested for the first time – he was caught spray painting in a park and even shattered a window. But those offenses masked a deeper pain.
Mann recalled:
“I don’t like saying I was a bad kid ’cause I don’t like to put that label on me. But I made a lot of bad choices.
“My parents were both addicts. They were great parents. They were always very loving, always really encouraging, but they just had an addiction. They have recovered now and are doing great, but my upbringing was a little non-consistent.”
After a few more arrests for petty vandalism, a court-ordered therapist convinced Mann’s mother and father to send him to a faith-based treatment facility called Lord’s Ranch.
Then suddenly, one morning, a truck showed up at his house. The workers packed his bags, put him in the vehicle, and left for the hour-long drive up north to Warm Springs. The “Mannimal” had no idea where he was going.
What was supposed to be a nine-month program became a month that would leave lasting scars.
The facility’s workers hit some of the kids, including Mann, and even forced them to fight each other for amusement. And on his 29th day at Lord’s Ranch, an employee kicked in a bathroom door and beat him badly enough to leave a handprint around his throat.
When his father and mother saw the bruises during their first family visit just a day later, they pulled him out of Lord’s Ranch immediately.
Mann shared:
“My parents got me out of there, filed a lawsuit, and then they relapsed. That was kind of the big thing that made them really fall off the deep end because they blamed themselves.
“It was just a lot of physical abuse there. The workers, a lot of them, went to prison and jail for all kinds of assault when the FBI eventually raided them. The place got shut down. The owner got arrested. It was awful.”
Mann, however, was still up to mischief even after the incident. There was a lot of anger and sadness he was trying to let out.
But that all changed when he was 19 years old. The Arkansas native welcomed the birth of his first-born child, and that instantly caused him to turn over a new leaf.
He told onefc.com:
“Once my daughter was born, it kind of just woke up something inside of me. God kept me grounded. God saved my life, and I can say that for sure.”
A Lifelong Dream Delayed By Fear
While Mann’s childhood was marked by instability, one constant remained: his obsession with combat.
The Lake City native made action figures battle each other as a kid, but these weren’t simple clashes. Even at four years old, he studied the mechanics – slipping imaginary jabs, countering with uppercuts, and understanding positioning and techniques before he even knew their official names.
By age 13, when students filled out their career orientation sheets, Mann wrote down two options:
“I had my sheet of paper in front of me, and there was this question, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And I was like, ‘Either in the NFL or becoming an MMA fighter.’ The teacher said, ‘What’s that? What are you talking about?’ But I said I wanted to be a professional athlete, one way or the other.”
Despite this clarity, fear held him back. At 15, he trained briefly after watching his older brother practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. But Mann worried constantly about what others would think if they saw him lose.
So, he focused on football, excelling as a quarterback and earning scholarship offers from various colleges. But he ultimately turned those down. He was still in his “wild phase,” as he puts it.
Soon, Mann calmed down, and after his daughter’s birth, he channeled his competitive fire into powerlifting, where he set state and national records. He even squatted 700 pounds. But it was never truly what he wanted – powerlifting just filled a void until he found the courage to chase his other dream.
At 21, something clicked. A friend at his powerlifting gym, who did BJJ and Muay Thai, ran a small martial arts program.
Mann trained there briefly, but then he heard about a competitive school nearby in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, called The LC. The welterweight hopeful decided to try it out, and he was humbled by his first session.
He shared:
“My very first night there, I got choked out by a girl, and I thought, ‘This is where I need to be.’ From the day I started, I came home and told my girlfriend, ‘Hey, I’m doing this. I want to do this.’ And she was on board.”
Chasing Perfection, Not Records
Over the next several years, Mann developed his skills in all areas of the game and even tested himself in grappling tournaments. And then in September 2021, he finally made his first walk to the cage for an amateur MMA bout.
However, he needed some convincing in the months leading up to it.
Though he dreamed of being a mixed martial arts superstar, fear had consumed him once again. He was stressed and full of anxiety, and the nerves never went away.
Eventually, Mann told his coach, Tommy Walker, to just schedule a match for him.
Walker obliged. Following a few months’ worth of training sessions, that September date came and “Mannimal” stepped into the cage for the first time in his life.
And as soon as the cage door shut on fight night, an aura of calmness overshadowed any negatives that the Arkansas native carried.
Mann recalled:
“I kept saying, ‘Let’s wait, I want to make sure I’m ready.’ And then eventually, I said, ‘Coach, you’re just going to have to book this fight and tell me when I’m fighting because I don’t think I’ll ever do it,’ and he did.
“But it was surreal, man. I couldn’t feel my legs when I was in there. Still, it was amazing. It was everything I dreamed of. As soon as the cage door locked, and I looked across [to my opponent], I knew this was it. I was like, ‘This is it, man. This is where I want to be.'”
Mann went on to win that fight via rear-naked choke in 90 seconds. He claimed three more victories in his amateur run, capped by a title in February 2023.
The Lake City resident made his professional debut four months later and has been flawless in his campaign, compiling a 6-0 record with an 80 percent finishing rate. “Mannimal,” however, barely acknowledges his pristine slate.
Even with a plethora of highlight-reel knockouts and submissions, Mann still walks into the locker room critiquing himself:
“People ask me a lot about the undefeated record, and I don’t really care about that. I just want to keep getting better. The goal always is I want to go in there and be perfect. I want to make my coach proud. I want to make my wife proud. I want to make Arkansas proud.
“I’m trying to build something here. I’m trying to show these kids who come from nothing, like I did, that you can do anything. If you believe in yourself with God on your side, just with the right mentality, anything’s possible. I want to leave a legacy.”
Mann’s Big ONE Championship Arrival
In 2025, Mann had conversations with his team about what he wanted to accomplish in the all-encompassing sport. The answer crystallized quickly: he wanted to share the stage with the greatest fighters in the world.
The American welterweight had been a ONE Championship fan since its inception. When MMA GOAT and former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson joined the promotion in October 2018, his interest intensified.
About a year ago, something began pulling him toward the world’s largest martial arts organization. The decision wasn’t just about competition. It was about proving to himself that a kid from Arkansas could defy the odds and stand among the best.
Mann said:
“I wanted to compete against the best in the world, and I wanted to prove myself. I want to see, and I want to find out. And, yeah, it was pretty crazy how it actually happened.”
After his most recent victory in May 2025, he reached out to express his interest in joining the roster via email.
Lake City’s finest then sent another follow-up email, declaring his readiness to make his debut on the global stage. ONE Championship’s matchmakers responded, but the initial offer was a bit too soon for the warrior from the Deep South.
Soon, the right moment arrived. Mann received the offer to face Fitikefu, a tough test that would immediately show he belonged in the organization.
The Arkansas native, who welcomed his second child last September, recalled:
“I sent another message to ONE, saying, ‘Let me know, I’m ready, if there’s ever an opportunity.’ And then, yeah, that was it. It was just a short-notice phone call or email, I should say, and we took it.”
On January 23, when “Mannimal” steps inside the “Madison Square Garden of the East,” he won’t be fighting just for himself.
He’ll be fighting for kids who were told they’re not good enough, for every young person trapped in cycles of poverty and addiction, and for everyone who needs to see that transformation is possible.
The bell will sound. Mann will look across the ring at his opponent. And just like that first MMA bout in 2021, he’ll know exactly where he belongs. This is where he wants to be.
