Brazilian lightweight Manoel Sousa had a perfect debut at UFC Vegas 114, knocking Bolaji Oki unconscious for a bonus-winning third-round finish Saturday night in Las Vegas, and his first plan was to give back to his mother in Brazil.
“Manumito”, who re-enters the cage Saturday for a short-notice clash with Richie Miranda at UFC Vegas 120, was awarded a $100,000 performance bonus for his devastating knockout on March 14, and that check is a dream for a man that used to make $5 a day to peel coconuts in his native Acaraú, Ceará.
“That money is going to make a huge difference in my life, man. A huge difference, really,” Sousa told MMA Fighting. “For someone who used to open 2,000 coconuts for 25 reais… Man, it’s crazy. It’s like a movie that plays in your head, something you can’t even explain.”
Sousa worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the coconut fields, peeling coconuts in Acaraú. It would take him 54 years to peel 40 million coconuts so he could pocket an amount of money that matches the bonus awarded him for the UFC Vegas 114 knockout. On cloud nine after the victory, “Manumito” flew back to Acaraú to visit his mother, Maria da Conceição, and give her a more comfortable life by furnishing her entire house.
“I renovated my mom’s house to give her a better life and make her more comfortable, something she never had,” Sousa said. “It’s an amazing feeling, man. It gives me so much satisfaction to be able to do that for her. She’s my biggest motivation. Without her, I’m nobody. First comes God, but without her, I’m nobody. She was incredibly happy. She was even happier because I showed up as a surprise [laughs]. I told her I was coming, but I didn’t tell her when. It had been four years since I’d been there because I was so focused on my career.”
“Another thing that makes me emotional is that my father is not alive to see the success I’m having,” he continued. “I’m sure that wherever he is, by the side of the Lord Jesus, he is happy with the son he left on Earth. I’m very proud of him because he was someone who fought very hard to raise us. He passed away, but he left us well prepared to live in this world.”
The road to the UFC wasn’t easy, and it included short runs in Bellator and PFL before finishing Cristian Perez on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract. A professional MMA fighter since 2019, “Manumito” had to dig deep to find the strength to persevere.
“I’m not ashamed to say that many times I would leave work on Friday, sparring day, and sit on the edge of the bed and cry,” Sousa said. “I cried because I didn’t want to go and I knew there was a lot of pressure. But when you got to the gym and started training, started throwing punches with your teammates, it was a completely different energy. I still went, no matter what, and I knew that somehow that would bring some opportunity to me, you know? It’s about having faith.”
It all paid off in the end, and he’s now a winning UFC fighter.
“When we first start fighting, we actually pay to fight,” Sousa said. “It’s a grind so it can all be worth it in the future. If you believe in yourself, go after it and keep working. Even now, fighting in the UFC, it’s like a movie plays in my head. Look where I came from and where I am today. I never imagined I’d be here, but when you believe and work hard, things happen.”
“Manumito” now face off with Miranda, who enters his first UFC bout riding a seven-fight winning streak under the LFA banner, winning and defending the lightweight title twice in a span of 13 months. Sousa, however, believes his striking will be too much for the 31-year-old.
“I’m sure he won’t want to stand and trade with me because he doesn’t have heavy hands,” Sousa said. “I’m going to try to finish the fight by knockout. I know he’s going to try to take me down because once that first big punch lands, nobody stays standing. Nobody wants to trade punches with me.”
“We can’t underestimate anyone,” he continued. “That kid is coming in with a lot of hype as a [LFA] champion, but the UFC is a whole different level. There’s no comparison. The UFC is a different level. Once you get in there, you have to show who you are, no matter who you’re facing. We’ll see what happens inside the cage. I’m much faster than he is. I don’t think he has heavy hands. I think once I start landing on him, he’s going to try to grab me, and we’ve been training for that.”
