A UFC bantamweight has called time on her professional MMA career following a difficult outing at UFC Belgrade.
Hailey Cowan suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Serbian newcomer Nina Milosevic on Saturday, marking her fourth consecutive loss inside the Octagon.
Shortly after the event, the former Dana White’s Contender Series standout announced her retirement from professional MMA in a heartfelt social media post.
Reflecting on her journey in an emotional social media post, Cowan looked back on the unlikely path that took her from gymnastics to the UFC.
This little gymnast from Waco, TX decided she would become an MMA fighter at 23 years old. I’m proud of what I was able to do. And I’m excited for whatever is next!
“All Hail” revealed that retirement had been on her mind for some time and expressed gratitude despite falling short of her goals inside the Octagon.
Over the past few months, I’ve known I was getting close to the finish line… I’m healthy, happy and full of gratitude. I am forever thankful to the UFC for the opportunity. It wasn’t the UFC career I dreamed of, but life threw me some bombs and I always overcame.
