Soft-Spoken MMA Fighter Lets His Fists do the Talking

When local mixed martial arts phenom Ryan McGowan isn't knocking people stiff in the octagon, the 6-foot-3, 295-pounder's transporting stiffs on a daily basis.

"I drive my own van and make deliveries as a subcontractor for an air freight company out of Arbutus. Mostly, we deliver pharmaceutical products for drug companies, but we also deliver big screen televisions and things like that," said McGowan, a resident of his native Pasadena.

"But we also deliver cadavers for a place called Anatomy Gift Research in Hanover, where people just donate their bodies to science. These guys ship them out for medical research and surgery and stuff like that," said McGowan. "They told me what the situation was. They're all in coolers and boxed up, so we never actually see them. It wasn't ever a problem. The last one I did was [Tuesday]."

On Saturday night at the 1st Mariner Arena, the 29-year-old McGowan will pursue his third knockout in as many victories without a loss when he meets 6-foot-5, 270-pound Steve Banks (5-5 record) of South Carolina as part of Shogun Fights IV before what is expected to be a crowd partisan to the popular McGowan.

"Steve will probably be the toughest match that Ryan's fought yet. The last dude that Ryan fought was 10-10, but it was one of those fights where if Ryan gets on top, then he wins, but if the other guy gets on top, then he wins," said event organizer, John Rallo who, with Bryan Hamper, was also the show's matchmaker.

"Steve Banks ... was 8-0 as an amateur and he's a national Muay Thai champion," said Rallo. "Ryan prefers to stand and strike, and this guy is going to want to stand [and] strike. So I think that this will be Ryan's best test yet."

A soft-spoken, 2000 graduate of Chesapeake High, McGowan's penchant for knocking guys silly has made him a fan favorite.

"People always expect a knockout from me, and I'd like to knock this guy out just because that's what I'm better at when both guys are standing up," said McGowan, who trains out of Rallo's Ground Control gym in Baltimore City. "I don't really consider myself a knockout artist as much as I just overwhelm them with my power."

McGowan said, however, that he also has worked on improving his ability to wrestle an opponent to the floor or to work a submission hold.

"I am trying to work with Mark Finley, my jiujitsu coach, at getting better in my ... ground game and stuff for this fight," said McGowan, whose said his past few days of training have been comprised of mitt work and conditioning.

"I don't do any running because I get shin splints really bad from jogging," said McGowan. "It's mostly plyometric workouts, circuit training and getting mentally ready over the last couple of days."

McGowan endeavored as a baseball third baseman and catcher as a little leaguer—an unconventional position for a large-bodied kid, as was his being active in soccer as a high school freshman.

"Soccer was another sport that I played for my whole life, since I was 4," said McGowan, who attended as a ninth grader before transferring to nearby Chesapeake. "In fact, if I hadn't turned into a fat boy growing up, I probably would have been really good at soccer."

An ambitious teenager, McGowan worked door-to-door selling windows and siding as at "14, or, 15 years old," he said. Next was a job at a Wendy's restaurant before starting his own commercial cleaning business.

"I was still running that cleaning company when I graduated and didn't have any idea what I wanted to do," said McGowan, who has been a bouncer at both a strip club and a pub. "I was making like $25 an hour and I was driving a decent car."

McGowan's boxing career began as much as a dare as it did from his ambition to make a violence-based living, this, following a bar-room conversation three years ago with professional boxer Mike Pascal of Baltimore.

"Mike had an amateur show that he was promoting and he needed a super heavyweight, so he asked me if I would do it, like, two days before the event," said McGowan, who estimates that he weighed about 320 pounds at the time.

"My fight was at the Maryland Sportsplex in Millersville. It was just supposed to go three one-minute rounds," said McGowan. "Of course, I was tired and out of shape, but the other guy just quit. Mike told me that I could make some money doing it, so I just stuck with it."

Thus began McGowan's amateur career, comprised of five bouts, all of which ended as knockout wins.

McGowan knew that he had arrived locally about three years ago, when he thrilled the crowd at Glen Burnie's as the main event with two first-round knockouts.

"Being the main event there, you know, that was a big deal for me, because I had been there about 20 or 30 times as a spectator watching other local guys fight there," said McGowan. "I was kind of nervous being there at first ... But getting the crowd behind me after winning both times by knockout, you know, you just don't walk around every day thinking that you're ever going to be in that position."

About two years ago, McGowan entered a three-day, toughman contest during which he, yet again, finished off four opponents inside of the first-round distance.

"I fought once on Friday night and then three times on Saturday. I had only trained for two of those fights," said McGowan, referring to an event that was dubbed "Big and Bad" and contested in West Virginia.

"Everybody was saying that I had incredible, natural power and that they had never seen anybody hit that hard before. They said that I could go a long way just on power alone," said McGowan. "I haven't really been hit yet, so I've never had to go to work with any marks on my face other than maybe a black eye from sparring."

Any nerves?

"None," said McGowan. "The only things that make me nervous are the interviews and being in front of the cameras. That's about it."