Hailey Cowan

Cowan returned to action against Alice Pereira and the fight slipped away late in the second round when Pereira finished her with a knee. The result mattered because it pushed Cowan to 0-3 in UFC competition after the earlier losses to Jamey-Lyn Horth and Nora Cornolle.

Key moments

• Lost to Pereira by knockout at 4:24 of round two.
• The defeat was Cowan's third straight UFC result.
• It was her first fight since the Nora Cornolle submission loss almost a year earlier.

The Cornolle bout gave Cowan a second UFC start after a long gap from her debut, but she still left without the reset result she needed. Cornolle took the finish by rear-naked choke in round two, which kept the UFC chapter winless heading into 2026.

Key moments

• Cornolle submitted Cowan at 1:52 of round two.
• The fight followed Cowan's decision loss to Jamey-Lyn Horth in her UFC debut.
• It set up the later April 2026 matchup with Alice Pereira.

Cowan's UFC debut lasted the full fifteen minutes, but Jamey-Lyn Horth controlled enough of the fight to take a unanimous decision. That made the first Octagon result different from the quick regional finishes on her record and set the tone for a more difficult promotion jump.

Key moments

• Dropped a unanimous decision over three rounds in her UFC debut.
• The loss came less than a year after her Contender Series win over Claudia Leite.
• It was Cowan's first defeat since the September 2020 loss to Kelly Clayton.

Cowan earned the roster shot by edging Claudia Leite over three rounds on Contender Series. The fight matters because it showed she could bank a close decision after the Monica Franco submission instead of needing every good result to come by finish.

Key moments

• Beat Leite by split decision after three rounds on Contender Series.
• The win followed her Invicta submission of Monica Franco earlier the same year.
• It sent Cowan into the UFC off back-to-back victories.

Cowan restarted her climb by submitting Monica Franco in the second round in her lone Invicta appearance. That result is useful context because it came after the Kelly Clayton loss and became the first step in the two-fight run that led directly to Contender Series.

Key moments

• Finished Franco with a rear-naked choke at 3:17 of round two.
• The win snapped the layoff that followed the 2020 loss to Kelly Clayton.
• It gave Cowan momentum going into her Contender Series booking with Claudia Leite.

Cowan's five-fight regional winning streak ended at LFA 91 when Kelly Clayton caught her in a guillotine 46 seconds into the second round. The upset mattered because Cowan entered as the bigger name at 5-1, while Clayton later described the result as the win that finally put her on the map.

Key moments

• The official result was a guillotine-choke submission at 0:46 of round two.
• Tapology listed Clayton as a sizeable underdog entering the bout.
• The loss snapped Cowan's five-fight winning streak.
• The fight took place on the LFA 91 main card in Sioux Falls.

Cowan had to go the full fifteen minutes with Brittney Cloudy, but she still extended her streak by edging out a split decision at LFA 83. The scorecards showed a competitive fight rather than another quick finish, which made the win a useful test of her ability to bank rounds at bantamweight.

Key moments

• Cowan won by split decision after three rounds in Dallas.
• LFA's published result listed the judges' scores as 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.
• Tapology lists the bout as a bantamweight main-card fight at LFA 83.
• UFC FIGHT PASS later uploaded the full fight to its official YouTube channel.

Cowan handled veteran Jessica Middleton over three rounds at LFA 73 and came away with a clean unanimous decision. The win stood out because Middleton arrived with Bellator experience, and the scorecards showed Cowan controlling the fight clearly enough to sweep the judges.

Key moments

• The bout served as the co-main event at LFA 73 in Dallas.
• Tapology and ESPN list the official result as a unanimous decision over three rounds.
• Contemporary LFA results reported 30-27 scores across all three cards.
• The victory moved Cowan to 4-1 as a pro.

Cowan kept her early rebound going at LFA 63 by forcing Sarah Click to give up the rear-naked choke in round two. LFA's own result called it a technical submission, and the fight added another different finishing method to Cowan's growing regional streak.

Key moments

• The stoppage came at 1:29 of round two in Belton, Texas.
• LFA's published result listed the finish as a technical submission by rear-naked choke.
• Tapology shows the bout on the LFA 63 main card at flyweight.
• The win pushed Cowan to 3-1 in her first four professional fights.

Cowan produced the signature knockout of her early regional run when she stopped Jessica Sotack with a head kick late in the second round at LFA 55. The finish gave her a second straight win after the pro-debut loss and showed how dangerous her kicking game could be once opponents slowed down.

Key moments

• Tapology lists the official finish as a head-kick knockout at 4:35 of round two.
• The fight took place on the preliminary card of LFA 55 in Dallas.
• The knockout moved Cowan to 2-1 as a professional.
• MMA Fighting later highlighted it as a 'head kick of the year' candidate from the LFA slate.

Cowan got her first professional win in emphatic fashion by overwhelming Sha Whittington in just 69 seconds at LFA 52. The quick finish was important after the debut loss because it immediately restarted her momentum and began the five-fight streak that later carried her to Contender Series.

Key moments

• Sherdog lists the stoppage as TKO by knees and punches at 1:09 of round one.
• Tapology places the bout on the LFA 52 preliminary card in Belton, Texas.
• The result evened Cowan's professional record at 1-1.
• It was the first win of the five-fight streak that preceded the Kelly Clayton setback.

Cowan's professional debut ended in a first-round loss when Victoria Leonardo took her back and finished the rear-naked choke at LFA 40. The result gave Cowan an immediate lesson against another debuting prospect and set the baseline for the five-win rebound that followed.

Key moments

• Tapology lists the official finish as a rear-naked choke at 4:27 of round one.
• The fight took place on the main card of LFA 40 in Dallas.
• Both fighters entered the matchup making their professional debuts.
• The loss remains Cowan's only first-round defeat.