Cian Cowley | BRAVE CF
Conor McGregor’s training partner competes in his fifth professional MMA fight at BRAVE 24: London on Thursday evening.
BRAVE 24: London takes place on Thursday, July 25th from the Copperbox Arena in London, England. It’s a show billed as a “once in a lifetime” experience. An exclusive, invite-only crowd will be in attendance to witness seven fights featuring athletes from ten different countries, as BRAVE Combat Federation looks to spread MMA further across the globe. The promoters hope that the evening will connect the highest level of businessmen, politicians, influencers and celebrities to the sport, and help take MMA to a new level. In the co-headliner, Cian Cowley (2-2) looks to showcase his skills against dangerous, Polish striker, Maciej Gierszewski (4-4), at lightweight.
Despite making his amateur debut in 2016, his roots in combat began long before. Cowley built up a great deal of experience on the Irish Thai boxing scene through his younger years, where he won multiple belts in his weight class—as well as achieving success in kickboxing. As he began to get offered international bouts, he saw the opportunities that MMA presented, just as the sport was beginning to take off in his home country. Between the two, mixed martial arts appeared to be a more enticing career path. The turning point came for him when he took up the opportunity to have a Muay Thai fight in unfamiliar surroundings.
“That bout was inside a cage using small gloves, which was my first ever taste of fighting in four ouncers. I’d never even put those on before,” said Cowley. “From that experience, I saw how much the game changes when the size of the glove is reduced. And I became obsessed with the small gloves, as my style is all focused on hitting without getting hit. I couldn’t believe the damage that I took in that fight – which is probably the most I have ever received – so I trained in them, even though caged Muay Thai got banned after that.”
At that experience, Cowley bumped into John Kavanagh, got chatting and – before he knew it – was training at SBG Ireland alongside the professional team. He began drilling some jiu-jitsu techniques for the first time and started to realize what MMA was all about. Cowley became fascinated with how all of the martial arts were combined together and his love for the sport flourished from there.
“Thai boxing is still in my heart,” stated Cowley. “I still run a Thai boxing gym where I coach – and that is something I will always do – but MMA is the main focus for me now. I’ve been a martial artist all of my life, so now is the chance for me to display my full range of skills. I want to be one of the elites.”
The McGregor protege made his amateur debut inside the famous 3Arena, Dublin after only three months of training, but broke his hand during the fight. Despite still nursing that injury, he traveled to Vegas shortly after with the Irish team—for the IMMAF World Championships. He had a burning desire to compete and wouldn’t let the break hold him back. Cowley won his first three bouts in the competition – including a victory over current English hot prospect, Akonne Wanliss – and progressed to the semi-finals. Unfortunately doctors wouldn’t clear him to fight. That same hand was too swollen. Reluctantly, he withdrew from the competition and flew back home to get surgery and return to training again.
Cowley made his professional debut at BAMMA 29 in May 2017, but fell to a first round defeat—getting submitted by fellow debutante, David Khalsa. However, after taking a years break to further hone his skills and techniques, he got signed by BRAVE CF and he won his next two fights by knockout. He last competed in the Philippines earlier this year, where he dropped a split decision to John Brewin. Some may claim that his now 2-2 record isn’t impressive for someone who sees themselves as a top prospect, but the 26-year-old shrugs that suggestion off. For him, people who think like that are too narrow minded.
“I honestly don’t care about my record,” explained Cowley. “Records are important to people just starting out who are looking to make a quick run, but this is a marathon—not a sprint. I’m in this for the long run, so my main focus is to get better every fight. Take new things into each training camp, and constantly improve. It’s inevitable that I will put it all together. The more fights I have, the more dangerous I am going to become. At the end of the day, it all comes down to who is a real fighter and who isn’t. Not just who has a clean slate. I’ve taken very little damage so longevity is on my side.”
BRAVE CF is the largest MMA promotion in the Middle East. The organization has put on shows in fifteen different countries around the world. They launched in 2016 and have close ties with IMMAF, to help develop the amateur side of the game. Cowley is looking forward to featuring at the upcoming black-tie event, in front of guests from all over the world (including Chris Eubank Sr, Paul Daley, Dan Hardy, English boyband Blue and the owner of the fourth largest YouTube channel in the world, Whindersson Nunes). He feels as though he is really thriving in the promotion, and hopes that many of the attendees who haven’t witnessed the sport live before will leave wanting to get more involved.
“I’ve been around a lot of MMA organisations over the years cornering teammates, so seeing how BRAVE run things and witnessing how they treat their fighters really makes them stand out,” noted Cowley. “As they say, BRAVE really are a truly global MMA organisation. In the short of amount of time they’ve been running, they’ve had shows in more countries than any other organisation in the world. They really are expanding MMA globally and looking to bring it to many different countries that haven’t seen it before. I’m very happy to be part of the BRAVE team.”
“This is a great show to be part of with the VIP, invite-only nature of the event,” he continued. “No one really knows what it’s going to be like, or how it’s going to play out, but it’s definitely exciting—and I’m looking forward to fighting in front of a load of big names. I’ll put on a show for them and make sure I stand out. It’s going to be great for networking and for building the sport. I want to represent martial arts as a whole to these celebrities and people from the government who have never been to a MMA event, and show them what a true martial artist is all about. What goes into this sport, including the commitment and the dedication fighters need, is really unseen in the big picture. Significant events like this are great to show influential people so they can spread the good word as well.”
His opponent is a well-traveled competitor, having competed for Bellator, Cage Warriors and BAMMA. Gierszewski is also coming off of a loss in his last fight, to English prospect Justin Burlinson, at Bellator Newcastle. He’s likely to be hungry to taste victory once again. Every single one of Gierszewski’s wins have come via first round knockout, but he has also tapped to a submission in all of his losses. Many would suggest that the obvious route to victory for Cowley in this contest is to stay away from his adversary’s strikes and to take things to the mat, but that is not an opinion that he subscribes to.
“I’m not really worried about what he brings to the table,” said Cowley. “I’ll just stick to my thing and do what I do. He’s just another body that I’ve seen hundreds of time in the gym, and during fights, with the style that he brings. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not underestimating him in the slightest. He’s heavy handed, but I won’t shy away from striking with him. It’s going to be him looking to take me down, the same way everyone does once he feels my shots and my range. That will be his only hope. As I’ve said before, I’ll always take the chin before I take the neck. I’m a fighter at the end of the day so I’ll stand and bang. I won’t be shooting for any takedowns.”
“I don’t really like making predictions for fights because anything can happen,” acknowledged Cowley. “I’m a realist as well. I don’t like saying I’m going to do this and do that—as you never know how bouts will play out. I’ll go in there, let the instincts take over, and it will be his choice which way he gets finished.”
BRAVE 24: London is expected to be headlined by a featherweight title fight, with Bubba Jenkins looking to defend his belt against UFC veteran, Lucas Martins. Fans in the UK/Ireland can watch the show on Thursday evening at 7pm BST on bravecftv.com while fans in the US can purchase the show on FITE TV airing at at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific.