Damian Darker was just like any other four-year-old child growing up in Dublin in the 90s.
Playing a friendly game of football with his friends was top of his list of priorities, but when his parents started dragging him down to the community centre across the road from their flat to learn taekwondo, training in combat began to dominate his daily routine.
After acquiring his junior black-belt in his early teens, Darker made the transition to kickboxing. As he began competing on the amateur scene, Darker had to cope with being an adolescent thrust into the adult world by taking on vastly more experienced kickboxers, some of whom were almost double his age. It was here where the plucky scrapper learned the humbling effect of defeat.
“We had a few tough losses when we turned senior in kickboxing. Just being a boy going into a man’s world we had a few harsh lessons. I got stopped twice, TKO’d by referee stoppage from 30-year-old men that are way more experienced than a 17-year-old boy that’s just moved up. We learned a lot from that and I was able to come back and beat that same opponent twice and wipe that slate clean. That was a mental thing I overcame and I was delighted when I was leaving the kickboxing ranks that I did that.
“That fight would have been in the opponent’s back yard so the crowd was hostile. You’re naive, you’re a kid. You’re not exactly aware of who’s around, who are the veterans and you just think you’re it.”
WATCH: Irish fighter scores brutal spinning head kick knockout in K-1 event https://t.co/DhzM3w629M
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He excelled at amateur level, winning the national title and making waves internationally by claiming belts at WAKO and IKF. Although some fighters are drawn by the violence of the sport as a means of getting out aggression, it wasn’t the brutally of combat that drove him to this early success but rather his obsession with glory.
“It’s weird, I’m in no way violent and anyone who knows me knows I’m the furthest thing from that. It just became something I’m good at. You enjoy the winning factor. You get hooked on winning.
“I don’t like getting punched in the face. I certainly don’t like getting kicked in the face. Who likes to get knocked out, you know? You see people saying they love fighting and they get a knee in the chin and they’re out cold. They’re not going to say they love fighting then. They love the winning aspect.”
In 2015, Darker decided he had enough of getting hit for free and switched over to professional K-1. Despite having only three professional bouts under his belt, he finds himself just one win shy of securing a Warrior FC title fight. After being fast-tracked for a belt this early into his career, he confidently predicts moving onto bigger and better things in the not too distant future.
“I believe I’m at a pro-level and a lot of people domestically aren’t. A handful are but some of them are just crazy enough to get in with no shin pads on. I believe I’m just fresh on the scene. A lot of the lads don’t have the skills, they’re just tough enough. I don’t believe a lot of lads belong at that level and that’s why I could bypass the domestic scene as soon as I possibly can.”
Darker feels blessed to be his own boss as a personal trainer, an occupation which allows him to train while earning a crust. Taking a gamble and trying to make it as a full-time fighter doesn’t appeal to him, and rather than follow the risky route that paid off for MMA star Conor McGregor, he’s focused on blazing his own trail towards superstardom.
“A lot of them are unemployed and full-time fighters. There’s a lot of people trying to follow the Conor McGregor footpath. He’s one in a million, he’s gifted and he’s made his own way. But everyone’s just trying to follow that blueprint and they believe giving up their jobs and pursuing it is the way.”
With the explosion of Irish MMA in recent years, Darker feels as though there is an appetite for K-1 on these shores, but the vast majority of people just aren’t aware of the sport’s existence. Should the Irish scene need that one stand-out star to bring it into the mainstream, he’s more than willing to play the part.
“Everyone is jumping on the MMA bandwagon. The likes of Conor have made it global. Everyone’s trying to be the next Conor and I just see a path for myself, I’m not going to be a sheep. I want to make my own way in the K-1 world and become a star from this country, because there aren’t many global stars in the K-1 scene.”
“Ultimately, I don’t think it’s being marketed right over here. I have the ultimate respect for MMA, when it goes to the floor and when it’s standing on the feet, but most so-called mixed martial arts fans boo when it goes to the ground. They’re not MMA fans. That’s where I see a huge niche for K-1 because it is what people want to see. They want to see stand-up fights and that’s what it’s designed for. No clinch, no boring holding. You want to see knockouts and constant action and that’s what K-1 is designed for.”
One trait he does share with ‘The Notorious’ though is an incredible ambition. He wants to become the posterboy for Irish K-1, achieve international acclaim and, perhaps most importantly, he wants to get paid.
“To leave a legacy would be great. I want to be known as an exciting fighter, but ultimately I want the money to be coming in. I want to be in there trying to make as much money as possible.”
