Only a few days out from his 19th birthday, Integrated MMA youngster Tyler Manawaroa took his Mixed Martial Arts record to 10-0 with another first round stoppage, this time a submission over Taipari Rikihana on the Nitro MMA 9 card. The event took place at the Logan Entertainment Centre in Logan City on Saturday night. With the win, Manawaroa captured the Nitro middleweight crown.
Manawaroa recently moved to the middleweight division after competing the majority of his young career at welterweight. Manawaroa started the fight with an early leg kick that Rikihana was able to return with twice the venom. Manawaroa came forward but Rikihana was able to take the back and get the big suplex takedown. Manawaroa quickly got back to his feet but Rikihana again took the fight to the ground. This time Rikihana stayed tight in half-guard landing the occasional short strike as referee warned for more action. Manawaroa regained guard and shortly after the referee stood the fight up. In the stand-up both fighters exchanged heavy shots before Manawaroa landed a nice body punch, step up knee combo. He finished it with a takedown straight into side-control. Manawaroa transitioned to mount where he locked up the head-arm choke to get the tap. The end came at 4:32 of the first round.
Manawaroa joins both Ian Bone & Corey Nelson as a potential candidate for the TUF Nations house. The youngster was a final contender for the TUF Smashes house, with his age (17) believed to be the main reason he was not chosen. The big decision for Manawaroa and his team will be if he contests it at middleweight or if he drops to welterweight which is rumored. Either way, the sky is a limit for the youngster who continues to look like a more complete fighter with every outing. The victory for Manawaroa made it a whitewash for the Integrated MMA gym who went 5-0 on the night.
Impact MMA fighter Taipari Rikihana drops his record to 3-3 after taking this bout on a few weeks notice after Semir Celikovic was forced out. Second straight loss for Rikihana who is still developing as a fighter and has shown potential of his own in his short career. Expect bigger things to come for both fighters.
