Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Meet Egypt's Rising MMA Star

Having trained at what is known as the best camp in the world, Amr El-Gohary is planning on making Egypt proud as he becomes the first to compete in Thailand's Full Metal Dojo MMA. Here he explains what real dedication means...

Staff Writer

Amr El-Gohary is the first Egyptian fighter to be competing professionally in the Full Metal Dojo MMA league which is the second largest division of fighters in Asia. Hoping to bring glory to Egypt, El-Gohary is gearing up for his huge fight this 22nd August, against German Jan Steinbacher. Having dedicated his life to fighting, after relocating to Thailand to study at the Tiger Muay training camp (known as the best training camp in the world), in true Karate Kid fashion, all he did was eat, sleep, and train with UFC fighters, and world MMA champions. “I was living the dream, my family started to acknowledge the professional athlete in me, and that was when I decided to head back to Bangkok so I can train and study at the same time,” he tells CairoScene.

El-Gohary points out that there's more to combat sports and martial arts than beating people up, adding that “Fighting really helped me a lot since it became my passion. My life had changed so, from starting to take care of my health to what I care about. I changed from the guy that was always sitting around with nothing to do, playing Playstation, to a professional athlete." Somewhat a thrill seeker, El Gohary adds that "if I wasn't MMA fighter, I would have loved to be a pilot. That was my dream.”

Just 20-years old, El-Gohary is still a university student, and during the semester, he trains twice a day, six days a week. For two hours in the morning he focuses on strength and conditioning and then for three to four hours in the evening he trains in specific fighting disciplines including MMA, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling. When he is not going to school, El-Gohary's dedication goes to the next level as he returns to the training camp in Thailand to train 3-4 times daily.