That's a fact that could be easy to forget, given the kickboxer's recent history inside the Bellator MMA cage. After making his promotional debut at Bellator 125 with a vicious knockout of Doug Marshall, Manhoef stumbled with consecutive defeats, getting brutally knockout out by Joe Schilling and Alexander Shlemenko.
While Shlemenko's win would be overturned due to the presence of an anabolic steroid in his post-fight drug test, the image of Manhoef's unconscious body was tough to shake, and many fight fans and critics alike wondered if he should just hang up the gloves and ride away from the sport before it fully devastated him.