The 29-year-old welterweight takes on Australian-Tongan standout Isi Fitikefu A Fighting Night 39 on Friday, January 23 in Bangkok, the Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand. The fight will be streamed live on Prime Video, with Mann bringing his spotless 6-0 professional record to combat sports’ biggest stage. But his path here began from depths most people cannot imagine.
Mann grew up in Lake City and Paragould, Arkansas, surrounded by rural simplicity that masked the chaos of his childhood. His parents loved their three children very much and encouraged them to try every sport imaginable. But drug addiction gripped both his father and mother throughout his childhood, creating instability that forced the children to split time between their parents’ and grandparents’ homes.
Arrests started at age 10 for spray-painting parks and shattering windows. These violations masked a deeper pain that ultimately led a court-ordered therapist to recommend Lord’s Ranch, a faith-based treatment facility. What was supposed to be nine months of relief became a 29-day trauma as workers physically abused children and forced them to fight each other for entertainment. An employee kicked in a bathroom door and hit Mann so hard he left a handprint around his throat. His parents immediately took him out after seeing the bruises during their first family visit.
“My parents took me out of there, filed a lawsuit and then they backed out,” he said. “That was actually the biggest thing that really got them into the deep end, because they blamed themselves. It was just a lot of physical abuse there. The workers, a lot of them, went to jail for all kinds of abuse when the FBI finally raided them. The place was closed. The owner was arrested. It was horrible.”
Chase Mann discovers purpose through fatherhood and faith
Chase Mann welcomed his firstborn daughter at the age of 19. That moment immediately changed everything about his outlook on life and forced him to turn over a new leaf.
The Arkansas native had dreamed of professional fighting since childhood, pitting action figures against each other while studying mechanics at age 4. He wrote two career paths on his school orientation sheet at age 13: NFL player or MMA fighter.
Fear held him back for years as he worried what others would think if they saw him lose. He excelled at quarterback and earned college football scholarship offers, but turned them all down during his wild phase. Powerlifting temporarily filled the void, where he set state and national records by squatting 700 pounds.
The birth of his daughter completely changed his priorities. Mann found purpose through fatherhood and grounded himself through faith rather than just chasing athletic validation.
“When my daughter was born, something inside me woke up,” he said. “God kept me grounded. God saved my life, and I can say that with certainty.”
At age 21, something clicked when a powerlifting gym friend introduced him to martial arts. Mann was training briefly before hearing about The LC, a competitive school in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. His first session left him completely humbled when a female training partner choked him unconscious. He came home and told his girlfriend that he had found his calling.
She immediately supported the decision. Mann made his amateur debut in September 2021 after his coach Tommy Walker finally booked him a fight. The cage door was locked and calm replaced whatever negatives he had on him. He won via rear naked choke in 90 seconds.
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