Ashley Lear appeared at Southampton Crown Court and pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Fuzel Miah on the Northam Estate on May 14, 2024.
Lear kicked Mr Miah in the chest, causing a bleed on the brain from which he died four days later.
When the case went to trial in March this year Lear denied manslaughter, saying he was acting in self defence when he lashed out. But the jury was unable to reach a verdict and a retrial was planned.
Returning to court on Tuesday, the charge was put to Lear again and he entered a guilty plea.
Robert Bryan, prosecuting, said the defendant accepted he had committed an unlawful act and could have walked into a neighbouring block of flats where he lived instead of acting in the way he did.
Miah was carrying a bicycle on his shoulder and the defendant feared he would use it as a weapon, the court heard.
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In a statement read to the court by Mr Bryan, the victim’s family described Mr Miah as someone who was “loving, giving and always there for his friends and family”.
The statement added: “He was the centre of our family. His absence has left a void that will never be filled. Every day without him is a reminder of the future he should have had.”
Barry McElduff, mitigating, said his client had a history of taking Class A drugs.
But he added that Lear hoped to resume his career in civil engineering upon his release from prison and had already received a job offer.
Passing sentence the judge, Mr Justice Linden, said Lear and Mr Miah were arguing about drugs when the fatal incident occurred.
He added that assault committed by Lear caused a tiny, pre-existing aneurism in Mr Miah’s brain to burst, adding: “The consequences for Mr Miah were entirely unexpected.”
The judge said Lear, 36, of Kent Street, Southampton, had 23 convictions for 38 offences.
The defendant was jailed for 29 months for manslaughter, plus eight months for breaching two conditional discharges and a suspended sentence.
The judge said Lear’s decision to change his plea had spared witnesses the emotional distress of having to give evidence at a retrial.
