PhotoCred: MMA Fighting
Raush Manfio describes family as ‘another level of commitment’ and motivating force behind PFL run
Raush Manfio is just two wins away from becoming a millionaire.
Obviously, becoming the PFL lightweight champion is quite a big deal for the Brazilian. More so, he sees it as a major benefit for his family around him.
“Family is the base. Every true man knows about that,” Manfio told MyMMANews. “I can tell you like, ‘Oh, they are my big motivation to fight!’ No, I fight because I really love to fight. But they don’t allow to quit, never. So they are my biggest motivation.
“If I’m tired, I keep going and if you want to win over me you have to kill me because I have two daughters. Even when the weight cut is too hard, I remember, ‘No, I can’t quit. I have two daughters.’ And you get like goosebumps right now. I can’t. It’s another level of commitment. They are my main reason to not quit.”
The 13-3 Manfio closed out the 2021 PFL regular season with the biggest win of his career when defeating former UFC champion, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
Three points came with the victory to give him a total of six after first defeating Joilton Lutterbach. Both regular-season wins came via split decision for Manfio, the latter of which he believes to have been fair. The first? Not so much.
However, the 29-year old American Top Team product doesn’t like to win by points in general. Therefore he intends to leave it out of the hands of the judges going forward.
“It was all a surprise to me because I got in as an alternate so thank God I’m now in the playoffs,” Manfio said. “I think I’m ready to be here, and I’m really happy.
“I think it was the right time because I almost quit my career. So it was the last minute for me, I already talked with my manager a couple weeks before I got in the show and I thought, ‘Man, I think I’m going to stop my career. I’m going to give some classes.’ Because I was three years without fighting. So it was a perfect time for me, God opened this door.”
On August 13, Raush Manfio squares off with Clay Collard in the lightweight semifinals.
