Cork MMA ace Brian Manning saw off German fighter in style on Oktagon debut

Cork MMA fighter Brian Manning put in his best performance to date when he stopped German native Daniel Schwindt in the first round of their middleweight fight in Stuttgart.

Manning made his entrance dressed as Jigsaw from the Saw horror movie franchise and followed it up with a dominant win in his Oktagon debut in front of a crowd of 15,000.

He came in after winning all his five previous fights, four by way of knockout and the other by submission. The German should have known what to expect, as Manning has very heavy hands.

Both fighters were happy to share the middle of the cage in the opening minute of the fight and were getting a little success when some punches landed on target. Manning then caught Schwindt with a beautiful right overhand right that certainly made him know that he was in for a difficult evening. 

PIVOTAL

The German recovered to land a strong right to the Cork man's head. However, the punch only bounced off him and it certainly didn’t give him any trouble. 

Then came the pivotal moment of the fight, Manning hurt Schwindt with a beautiful combination that saw him stumble to the floor. The Cork man smelt blood and pounced on his opponent raining down powerful blows to his head before the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

Manning came into this fight under pressure as he only signed a four-fight deal with one of the biggest MMA promotions in Europe. He certainly didn’t leave anyone down with a magnificent performance to beat a very experienced Schwindt in his own backyard and in front of his own fans.

VICIOUS

"My plan for this year is to win the middleweight title,” Manning said after the fight.

Look at that and what did I say before... this was going to be a vicious, violent performance.

"A first-round knockout too. That was exactly what happened and what more does anyone want, as all I care about is winning to be honest.

“Daniel Ligocki is a guy I want next. We were already supposed to fight and look it doesn’t matter, as I will willingly fight any middleweight fighter in Oktagon. Honestly, just anyone, it doesn’t matter what weight, light heavyweight, welterweight or any weight."

This fight will have certainly have caught the eye of other fighters in the middleweight and other divisions.

Manning can look forward with confidence to his next fight with Scott Lagdon and Oktagon, as he certainly won’t fear anyone, especially after such a devastating performance.