Manuwa vs Coulter is off — Chase Sherman steps in

Jimi Manuwa's comeback was announced on 7 August against Rashad Coulter — a 44-year-old former UFC heavyweight, retired from the cage since 2023, whose last outing ended in a knockout loss in a bare-knuckle title fight. For a man returning after seven years away at 46 years old, it was a carefully chosen assignment.

On 20 August the promotion put out a new poster: same date, same slot, same heavyweight boxing rules, different opponent. Chase Sherman. No statement accompanied it, and no reason for Coulter's withdrawal has been given. Fights fall out for injuries, failed medicals and contract disputes, and at this range it is rarely made public which one it was — so we are not going to guess.

One practical note, because it causes confusion every time: the fight databases have not caught up. Tapology and the rest still show the original booking, and will for a while. That is a lag in third-party record-keeping, not evidence that the change isn't real.

This is the part worth understanding if you had money, a ticket or an evening riding on this bout, because it is not a like-for-like swap.

Chase Sherman knocked Rashad Coulter out with an elbow in round two at UFC 211 in May 2017. That fight won Fight of the Night. Manuwa's new opponent is the man who beat his old one.

Beyond the head-to-head, Sherman is eight years younger than Coulter, five inches taller with a 78-inch reach, has twice as many professional fights, and — the line that matters most against a man coming off a seven-year layoff — he competed in April 2026. Coulter has not fought since October 2023.

Against Coulter, Manuwa was the bigger, longer, more decorated fighter. Against Sherman he is none of those things. Our full breakdown of what that does to the fight is on the Manuwa vs Sherman page — tale of the tape, both records, and an honest read on who wins.

Worth saying properly, since he was on this poster for two weeks. Coulter, nicknamed Daywalker, is 9-5 in MMA with eight of those wins by knockout or TKO — a genuine finisher at regional level. He went 1-3 in the UFC between 2017 and 2018, which reads harshly for a man whose one UFC defeat that everybody actually remembers was a Fight of the Night.

After the UFC he moved into bare-knuckle boxing, went 2-1 there, and challenged for the BYB heavyweight title in October 2023. He was knocked out. That remains his last appearance in any ruleset, and it is the context in which a return at 44 was always going to be a question rather than a given.

No next booking has been announced for him. If one appears, we will add it here.

To be explicit, because a cancelled bout makes people assume the worst about a debut promotion: Duel: Arena 1 is going ahead. Saturday, August 29 at the Kia Center in Orlando, doors 6:00 PM ET and first fight 7:00 PM ET. One other thing has changed since: Dillon Danis withdrew injured on 27 August and Brandon Jenkins took the main event on 48 hours' notice.

The card went ahead unchanged around this bout: pay-per-view at $29.99 through DuelArena.tv, streamed worldwide via PlayLive.

If you were specifically betting this bout, that is the one thing genuinely worth re-checking. Prices set against Coulter do not transfer to Sherman, and any market priced before 20 August was priced against a different man. Our sportsbook page covers how the card is handled at Duel, the operator promoting the event.

Mike Perry vs Brandon Jenkins headlined under MMA rules, with Gypsy Crusader vs Ben Azoulay in kickboxing, Phil Rowe vs Javanis Ross and Jimi Manuwa vs Chase Sherman in boxing, Alex Nicholson vs Brad Taylor and the newly added Blake Anthony vs Nate Morrow in MMA, plus Ryan Pownall vs Patrick Clark Jr and Jack Grady vs Wade Stokan.

We track every addition and withdrawal on the Duel: Arena 1 hub and update as soon as the promotion confirms something rather than when it is rumoured.