After retiring from mixed martial arts a few years ago, Jimmy “The Tooth” Manning is fighting again and has already cinched his first pro-level win.

With his next match on Jan. 28, Manning, a Marion resident, is looking to make his record 2-0 as he strives to “move forward” after personal setbacks took him out of the cage.

A graduate of Old Rochester Regional High School, the 39-year-old Manning has had his share of bumps in the road. He grew up in New Bedford and said he moved around a lot as a kid, attending four elementary schools before he ended up at ORR.

“Life wasn’t easy coming up,” Manning said, and he acknowledges that he didn’t make it any easier on himself. “I had a troubled history in the later part of high school and that followed me after high school. It got a lot worse before it got better.”

Joining Nexus Martial Arts & Fitness in Wareham was a positive shift for Manning, who trained in Brazilian jiu jitsu before moving on to mixed martial arts. As an amateur fighter on a team with Wareham’s Cape Cod Fighting Alliance, Manning saw success, finishing with a top ranking in New England and a winning record.

But about two years ago, he decided to retire from fighting temporarily due to issues in his personal life.

“I needed to learn to live life without an endeavor,” he said. “Things were always changing. I needed to figure out how I could live in those changes without an endeavor.”

Manning’s hiatus included a painful division with his teenage daughter.

“There were some mistakes I had made that I’m not proud of, but I’m human. All I can do is keep trying to better myself in life in hopes that some day [my daughter and I] will be back together again,” said the fighter, who also has an 8- and 12-year-old as well as an adult stepson.

While Manning spent a few years out of the ring, he wasn’t far from MMA and began teaching jiu jitsu full time.

“I got to see the instructor side…the need to focus on people rather than yourself,” said Manning.

As he grappled with his own issues and learned the value of teaching others, Manning decided it was time to return to fighting, this time as a professional. Getting rid of the “ring rust,” Manning jumped into a seven day a week regimen, joining South Shore SportFighting in Norwell.

The transition wasn’t easy.

“We’re not making gingerbread houses or stuffing mattresses. We’re in the hurt business,” said Manning. “The fighting on fight night is the easiest part. It’s making weight, staying on a consistent diet…learning to get out of bed and continue to do all of these things on a regular basis is what encapsulates a great fighter.”

Manning put his hard work to the test in November with his first professional fight and win against Ryan Dibartolomeo. (Watch the match here.)

“I’m pretty sure that the way I performed silenced all the critics,” he said.

Coming off that win, Manning wants to fight as many times as he can over the next two years, after which he will most likely retire again, this time for good. Ultimately, his goal is to get some accolades under his belt that will give him more credibility as an instructor.

“I really enjoy helping people and explaining to people that no matter how bad things get, there’s always ways of slowly making improvements to better your life on a day to day basis.”

In the mean time, Manning will continue to fight and would like to get a match on national television at least once.

“My confidence level is really high. I just don’t think I can be beat right now,” said Manning.

His next fight is Saturday, Jan. 28 at Plymouth Memorial Hall and is hosted by Cage Titans. Tickets are $45 and the doors open at 5 p.m. Get more information at cagetitansfc.com or www.facebook.com/cagetitansfc. Manning also has a Facebook page here.