Issue 046
February 2009
Tom ‘The Tank’ Egan hails from Dublin and was recently given a four-fight deal by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
His first appearance will be at UFC 93, which takes place in his home city on January 17th. Egan celebrated his twentieth birthday in April this year, which at time of writing makes him the youngest fighter on the UFC roster.
Undefeated in his six-fight career, he is the first Irish fighter that the UFC has signed and is the first member of the Irish Pro Team fight squad to make it to the big leagues. All these firsts might go to the head of a less mature fighter, but not Egan. Being a young man of considerable faith, he feels it is all part of a bigger plan.
“I’m just working hard and doing the best I can,” he says. “Everything happens for a reason so whether I win or lose, it’s all part of God’s plan. I just go with the flow.”
His take on things won’t surprise those who have seen him fight in the past. Tom Egan is one of many fighters who see their struggles in the cage as a way to spread a message. Every time he fights, Egan enters the cage in a T-shirt emblazoned with a passage of scripture or inspirational text, and he surrounds himself with similar messages at home.
“I’m here in my bedroom right now, I have the same scripture on the wall that I have on my website: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’, which is from the book of Philippians,” he reveals during our telephone interview. I have that on my wall alongside pictures of my favourite fighters, to keep me motivated.”
Egan lives with his parents in their Dublin home, and says he would not have got where he is now without their support. “My parents help me out and help me to train full time, which I really appreciate. They are very good.”
He acknowledges that MMA “probably wasn’t their first choice of sport for me to do, but they are very happy that I am doing well and getting where I want to be”. Egan’s martial leanings seem to be a family trait – his mother earned a black belt in Shotokan karate some years ago.
After taking up martial arts at the age of 12, Egan found something he loved doing, and he is representative of a new generation of young fighters that are training every aspect of the game equally. He describes himself as a mixed martial artist and says: “I do like to use the jab, I like to box, but I also make sure I have all the tools I need for every phase of the fight.”
John Kavanagh – Ireland’s only BJJ black belt – runs the SBG Dublin gym and is the man responsible for Egan’s day-to-day training. Having watched his student develop over the years, he has seen his natural ability first-hand.
“It’s going to sound all clichéd here, but he really is well rounded. His striking art of choice is probably boxing, because he also trains with a professional boxing team. His wrestling is good, he is particularly hard to take down, and on the ground, he is pretty close to being a purple belt,” he explains.
Kavanagh is looking forward to watching Egan make his UFC debut against fellow debutant John Hathaway, a British fighter who is undefeated in ten fights. “I think it’s a good match-up and I am sure they will bring out the best in each other,” he says, before adding with a grin: “And then Tom’s going to smash him.”
