For UFC Hopeful Hailey Cowan, the Time is Now
It’s been a transformative last year for touted prospect “All Hail” Hailey Cowan.
A pandemic and a shallow pool of opponents coerced Cowan into finding an alternative way to further develop as an MMA fighter without putting her professional record on the line.
Coming off an upset defeat to Kelly Clayton at LFA 91 in September 2020 that ended her five-fight winning streak and halted her UFC prospects, the 29-year-old Cowan knew work remained to reach the ultimate MMA destination.
Amid multiple fight cancellations and lack of opposition, Cowan took the last 18 months to hone in on her strengths and train with the likes of established UFC contenders Norma Dumont, Cynthia Calvillo and Tracy Cortez, among others.
It’s all coalesced to make Cowan’s end goal — to become a UFC champion — closer to reality.
“I’ve gotten so much experience in the past 18 months,” said Cowan. “I’ve been chomping at the bit for a fight, but this is exactly what I needed. It’s been huge.”
A former two-time All-American in acrobatics and tumbling at Baylor University, Cowan didn’t start training MMA until after she graduated college in 2014.
She grew up a massive MMA fan, watching fight cards from all across the spectrum with her dad. However, being in gymnastics full-time took away any opportunity for her to train martial arts at a younger age.
Out of college and a week away from leaving for an assistant coaching position at a university in Eerie, Pennsylvania, Cowan decided to attend an all-encompassing slate of MMA classes to test the sport out.
It was that night that ignited a revelation for Cowan.
“I was a big, strong athlete, and the very first time I rolled was with a girl who was like 15-years-old and 105 pounds soaking wet and I just got triangled over and over and over again,” said Cowan.
“And I was like ‘woah!’, if this girl can do this to me, just imagine what I can do.”
The next day, Cowan quit her job and started training MMA full-time — five-to-six hours a day — in an unorthodox career change.
In 2017, Cowan had her first amateur fight at Rite of Passage 1, a unanimous decision win over Anel Cantu. She would go on to win her next two amateur fights, with the third one coming by doctor stoppage at LFA 33 over Jeniece Gamez.
In May 2018, Cowan competed in her first professional MMA fight, which was a first-round submission loss to Victoria Leonardo, who is now in the UFC.
That loss preceded a five-fight winning streak Cowan would put together in LFA from late 2018–2020. She finished three of those wins and started to gain real traction as a legitimate MMA prospect.
After a split-decision win over Brittney Cloudy in 2020 to extend her winning streak to five, Cowan underwent knee surgery, which she cites as the reason behind her loss to Clayton.
Now over a year removed from stepping into the cage, Cowan will return Wednesday at Invicta FC 45 against 37-year-old Monica Franco (2–0), who fights out of Hawaii.
Cowan believes this is the fight that will springboard her to the UFC.
“The plan is to win this fight and go to the UFC,” said Cowan.
Cowan previously maintained a patient approach to her MMA career, since she was still new to the sport.
“I didn't want to be one of those girls who gets into the UFC and there’s a bunch of hype behind her and then gets cut,” said Cowan.
Citing the mindset of current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Cowan wants to be able to compete with the best bantamweights in the world before entering the UFC.
She believes the lack of contenders in the UFC’s 135-pound division, which just crowned a new champion in Julianna Pena, works in her favor when she does get there.
“It’s not an exciting division right now,” said Cowan. “Holly Holm is probably the biggest draw right now and she’s {40 years old}.They need to revamp the division if they’re going to keep it around.”
While Cowan wants to get to the UFC first to see how it goes, she believes that once she gets there, “it’ll be a quick ride to the top.”
Whether it’s in the UFC, Dana White’s Contender Series or on the regional circuit, Cowan expects an action-packed year, one that will get her closer to achieving her aspirations.
Cowan acknowledges the loftiness of her ambitions and the trials of learning the intricacies of the sport, but she’s on a journey to see what she’s capable of in MMA, and believes big things are ahead.
“Being the UFC champ is the end goal,” said Cowan. “But I’m just excited to see what I can do.”