Sherdog Prospect Watch: Manoel Sousa

Manoel Sousa understands true hardship better than the average person. He used to peel coconuts in his native Brazil—sometimes as many as 2,000 a day to earn less than $5—to help make ends meet for his mother and 17 siblings.

“When we worked peeling coconuts on the farm, we didn’t consider it training, but it was training,” Sousa told Sherdog.com. “The field work is very rough. You get very strong working a job like that.”

Now one of the most promising prospects on the Bellator MMA-Professional Fighters League roster, the 27-year-old lightweight uses those experiences to feed his competitive fire. Sousa will put his 11-0 record on the line when he collides with the undefeated Archie Colgan in a featured Bellator Champions Series 5 attraction this Saturday at the OVO Arena Wembley. His thoughts never stray too far from the mother who raised him and the upbringing that shaped him.

“Life was very hard,” he said. “Now I can really help her. I can provide her with a better life through sports. That motivates me a lot.”

Sousa has finished 10 of his first 11 opponents. The former Standout Fighting Tournament champion last suited up at Bellator Champions Series 1, where “Manumito” delivered a one-punch knockout of Tim Wilde in the first round of their March 22 encounter. It was the fifth first-round finish of his career.

“It was sensational,” Sousa said. “I think these fights are giving me more visibility. My style is to step into the cage to put on a show. Every day, I train hard to make it happen. I’m the best at what I do, and I make it happen.”

His next test appears to be fraught with difficulty, as Colgan has started his career with 10 consecutive victories. The Denver native wrestled collegiately at the University of Wyoming, where he was a two-time NCAA qualifier and compiled an excellent 111-41 record for the Cowboys. Colgan already holds wins over Emmanuel Sanchez and Thibault Gouti.

“I’m very well prepared for him,” Sousa said. “I studied him a lot. We focused on his game, which is a very boring ground game. I watched his fights, and I saw how it is, but I’ll frustrate him. Everyone will see my fists land yet again. I will knock him out. If he doesn’t fall in the first round, he will fall in the second.”

Should Sousa get past Colgan, the Academia Octogono rep would be open to a variety of opportunities, from challenging for a Bellator championship to entering the 2025 lightweight field in the PFL.

“My future plan is to fight now and wait for the promotion to decide what’s next,” he said. “If they want me to fight for the belt, I already said that I train to fight the best. That’s my life. I only live for this. I train to fight the best. I train to be a world champion. No matter what happens, I’m going to run after it, and I’ll get it. After this fight, we’ll sit down and talk about it with my coaches. We’ll sort it out.”