Singapore salvation for former Muay Thai champion Dan McGowan as he plots Evolve MMA and One Championship success
- From Luton Town to Bangkok, the 25-year-old describes the harsh realities of an all-or-nothing Muay Thai fighter
- ‘Am I ever getting the break I deserve?’ – McGowan was at a crossroads after coach’s death, injuries and the pandemic
Two-time Muay Thai world champion Daniel McGowan was ready to call it quits last year despite only turning 25 a few days ago. The Englishman – one of the youngest foreigners ever to compete at the illustrious Rajadamnern and Lumpinee stadiums in Thailand – has in recent years been plagued by the dreaded injury-surgery cycle and, once finally fit, found himself amid a Covid-19-gutted competitive scene.
McGowan (professional record 34-5-1) faced the age-old martial artists’ dilemma. Either double down on his decision to fly solo to Bangkok as a dreaming teen all those years ago, or walk away from all he knew.
“When you’ve done it for so long and given your life to it, sometimes you hit that crossroads. It’s either fight for it or stop doing it,” said McGowan, whose run of bad luck took a turn after he became Evolve MMA’s first non-Thai Muay Thai coach last month. A huge compliment given the Singapore gym houses legends of “the art of eight limbs” such as reigning One Championship champions Sam-A and Nong-O Gaiyanghadao.
“Covid-19 was another big thing as well. The gyms had shut in England and it seemed like one thing after the other. Like, ‘am I ever really going to get the break I feel like I deserve?’. I lost a bit of hope. I’d been competing for so long and given my everything to make it in the sport,” McGowan said, citing the death of talismanic trainer Liam Robinson in 2017 as a major emotional obstacle.
But just as he was scraping the bottom of the barrel of hope, McGowan now finds himself brushing shoulders with Sam-A and Nong-O who, coincidentally, he goes way back with.
