After more than 30 professional Muay Thai fights, the 30-year-old South African wasn't about to quit just yet – there was one more stadium he needed to fight in: Bangkok's famed Rajadamnern Stadium.
"It was always my dream to fight there. It's the hallowed-ground of Muay Thai, along with Lumpinee [Stadium]. And now these people were telling me I can't? I couldn't accept it," he said.
In March 2014, Gaines was on a tear in the local Phuket fighting circuit. But the accumulation of hits to the head took their toll. During one of his routine runs, Gaines said his vision started to blur.
Still, Gaines carried on as per the advice of his now former trainer. Until a few day later, after a particularly hard sparring session, Gaines collapsed to the ground. He was carried out and sent to the hospital where doctors told him he had a brain hemorrhage. Another hit could be fatal, they said.
"I wouldn't wish that pain on anybody. It's like a sound, the pain had a sound and it was constantly on max, 24/7," Gaines told The Phuket News. "Everyone told me not to train either. That was one of the hardest things to deal with, watching your friends train and not being able to do it, but worse because I became a liability."
For eight months, Gaines would think about not just making a comeback, but to fight at Rajadamnern. It was a dream he almost attained twice before until injuries got in the way. But the pain became unbearable and prescription drugs were not enough.
"It was a very dark time... I would've done anything for the pain to stop," he said.
With the support of trainers, his wife, and friends, Gaines slowly started to come back to the ring. First it was long runs in the morning and afternoon. Pretty soon, he was holding pads for other fighters and then hitting punching bags. From there, he went with light sparring with people he trusted at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp in Chalong.
In late December, Gaines stepped into the ring at for the first time in eight and a half months, knocking out his opponent. Three more knockout victories followed before he finally got the call to fight at Rajadamnern Stadium for a bout on February 22.
"I was just buzzing when I got to the stadium, this history the feeling of fulfilling a dream I had since I was 6 years old," he said.
Gaines' debut bout at the legendary stadium ended with ahis fifth victory in a row – a first round TKO win where he ran through his opponent.
I thought to myself 'I can die here and they'd find me with a smile on my face'. I was in disbelief of the situation, but in a good way," he said, "I finally felt like I'd made it."