Chase Mann carries redemption story into ONE Championship debut: “Kind of a big thing”

Chase Mann’s undefeated record tells only part of his story. The Arkansas native’s journey from troubled youth to ONE Championship contains chapters most fighters never experience.

The 29-year-old welterweight faces Australian-Tongan standout Isi Fitikefu at ONE Fight Night 39 on Friday, January 23, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. The bout streams live on Prime Video, with Mann bringing his spotless 6-0 professional record to martial arts’ biggest stage. But his path here started from depths most can’t imagine.

Mann grew up in Lake City and Paragould, Arkansas, surrounded by rural simplicity that masked childhood chaos. His parents loved their three kids deeply and encouraged them to try every sport imaginable. But drug addiction gripped both his father and mother throughout his youth, 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 offenses masked deeper pain that eventually led a court-ordered therapist to recommend Lord’s Ranch, a faith-based treatment facility. What was supposed to be nine months of help became 29 days of trauma when workers physically abused children, forcing them to fight each other for amusement. An employee kicked in a bathroom door and beat Mann badly enough to leave a handprint around his throat. His parents pulled him out immediately after seeing the bruises during their first family visit.

“My parents got me out of there, filed a lawsuit, and then they relapsed,” he said. “That was kind of the big thing that made them really fall off the deep end because they blamed themselves. It was just a lot of physical abuse there. The workers, a lot of them, went to prison and jail for all kinds of assault when the FBI eventually raided them. The place got shut down. The owner got arrested. It was awful.”

Chase Mann discovers purpose through fatherhood and faith

Chase Mann welcomed his first-born daughter at age 19. That moment instantly transformed everything about his approach to life and forced him to turn over a new leaf.

The Arkansas native had dreamed of professional fighting since childhood, making action figures battle each other while studying mechanics at age 4. He wrote down two career paths at 13 on his school orientation sheet: 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 filled the void temporarily, where he set state and national records by squatting 700 pounds.

His daughter’s birth changed his priorities completely. Mann found purpose through fatherhood and grounded himself through faith rather than chasing athletic validation alone.

“Once my daughter was born, it kind of just woke up something inside of me,” he said. “God kept me grounded. God saved my life, and I can say that for sure.”

At 21, something clicked when a powerlifting gym friend introduced him to martial arts. Mann trained briefly before hearing about The LC, a competitive school in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. His first session humbled him completely when a female training partner choked him unconscious. He came home and told his girlfriend he found his calling.

She supported the decision immediately. Mann made his amateur debut in September 2021 after his coach Tommy Walker finally booked a fight for him. The cage door locked and calmness replaced any negatives he carried. He won via rear-naked choke in 90 seconds.