This weekend, at Roots Muay Thai 22 in Melbourne, Chloe Dean will face Helen Stiles in Dean’s pro Muay Thai debut.
The two were originally set to face off in January, however Dean fell ill leading up to the fight, forcing the bout to be postponed to a later date. Dean says the delay in making her professional debut has only made her more excited to finally step into the ring.
‘This fight was meant to happen in Jan and fell through, I got sick, so it just feels like it’s been in the books for so long and I’m so keen to just get in there and do it…There’s a lot less nerves now, just because I’m ready to fight, to have this fight, because it’s been in the books for so long, it just feels like it needs to happen already.’ Dean said.
The preparation for her pro debut hasn’t been too different from her amateur camps, Dean said, as Khaoboy Muay Thai head coach Cory Dean has always held his fighters to a high standard.
‘To be honest [camp’s] not that different. Cory trains us really hard and Cory always said that I was going to go pro so he’s trained me hard from the start…We do the work every day, just a bit more running I think.’ Chloe said.
Dean had an interest to start martial arts for a long time before she made the choice to start training, and after passing a Muay Thai gym in St Kilda while coming home from work, she decided to go for it.
‘I’d always had it in me that I wanted to do something like this, but just, I don’t know, life, it just didn’t pan out that way…Supafight was on my way home and I always wanted to go in so one day I worked up the courage.’
While she is excited to step in the ring for her pro debut, Dean says she’s also aiming to remain calm and focused during the whole process on the night.
‘My process this time, I really want to ground myself and be really present and work on all the things we’ve worked on. My fight or flights pretty good, I haven’t lost yet, but there’s tricks I want to do and techniques I really want to make happen in the fight.’
‘I’ve always meditated. I’ve done it a little bit, I find it hard because I’m a mum and I’m fighting, I find it hard to get the time. Every night I meditate before I go to sleep to get into my body and focus on what’s going to happen in three days.’
Dean says her experience not only in the ring, but also cornering fighters at previous Roots Muay Thai events will assist her in keeping calm on the night.
‘I’ve been in those back rooms before so many times, I’ve cornered the fights, its not so much of a jump. I’m just so excited for it to be my turn.’
Roots Muay Thai 22 will be held Saturday the 27th of May at the Melbourne Pavilion, and is available to watch via Fite TV.
