Eventually, the contract came, and Cowan prepared to fight Ailin Perez at UFC Fight Night: Krylov vs Spann, but the morning of official weigh-ins, Cowan fell ill and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Now, about a month later, she gets to debut in her home state of Texas versus Tamires Vidal.
A self-described “passionate” person who “loves very big,” Cowan hopes March 25 is the first step on a path toward UFC gold. As one could gather, she didn’t get into this sport just for the heck of it. She got into it to win. Her original inspiration in the sport was Georges St-Pierre, and she hopes she can replicate some of the best of “Rush,” both in and out of the Octagon, as a competitor and role model.
“I really like people a lot and I just want to I want to be someone that parents can be comfortable with their kids looking up to,” Cowan said. They can be comfortable with their kids following my Instagram account and not worrying about what I’m saying or what I’m posting. I just want to be a light. I want (people to say), ‘OK, this is someone that you know, someone that the sport needed, someone who’s kind, someone who’s honest and someone who’s a good role model for kids.’”
First things first, though, which means taking care of business in the Octagon. For all the questions around Cowan, she showed she has a well-rounded skill set in her Contender Series battle and, win or lose, she wants people to know she belongs, that she is a force to be reckoned with, and that “Hailey The Athlete” is now “Hailey The Fighter.”
“I want them to know that I’m ready,” she said. “I know that’s been a big question mark. Seven and two, that’s not a whole lot of fights. I want to get out of the cage, regardless of what happens, and everyone to be like, ‘She belongs here.’
“The division really needs somebody right now. It needs some new blood, and I want to be that.”
