The husband of a UFC fighter and longtime Texas MMA coach is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Jacob Brennan was arrested on May 19 for alleged indecency with a child with sexual contact, a representative of the McLennan County district court confirmed to MMA Fighting — which is categorized as a second-degree felony. Brennan is the husband and coach of UFC bantamweight Hailey Cowan.
KWTX-TV in Waco was first to report the arrest.
Per an affidavit, an unidentified woman alleged to criminal investigators that Brennan, 40, inappropriately touched her between 2013 and 2015. The woman, who was 13 at the time according to the affidavit, alleged the abuse happened at Brennan’s gym in Waco, “in various rooms throughout the gym almost every day.”
The alleged woman met with detectives, according to the affidavit, this past November and told the investigators that “Brennan kissed her hundreds of times and touched her vagina above and below her clothes hundreds of times between 2013 and 2015,” and that the alleged victim also provided multiple e-mail notifications from Facebook indicating an alleged intimate relationship.
A McLennan County district court representative confirmed to MMA Fighting that no charges have been filed at this time. Brennan was released on $ 75,000 bond on Monday.
Cowan married Brennan in 2022, which was the same year she earned a contract the Contender Series. The 32-year-old has only competed once inside the octagon, losing a decision to Jamey-Lyn Horth at UFC Vegas 75 in April 2023. Cowan was scheduled to face Tamires Vidal at this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 92 event before being forced to withdraw after suffering a broken fibula.
Former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has reacted to a prediction of an “easy” fight from Islam Makhachev ahead of their UFC 302 title clash – claiming he will force the referee to pull him from an unconscious Makhachev next month in New Jersey.
Poirier, a former interim lightweight champion, is slated to headline UFC 302 just next weekend in Newark, attempting to land the undisputed lightweight crown at the third time of trying, following unsuccessful bids against both ex-champions, Charles Oliveira, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Dustin Poirier
As for Makhachev, the current pound-for-pound number one fighter, has been out of action since he headlined UFC 294 back in October, where he cemented his status as lightweight titleholder with a first round high-kick KO win over Alexander Volkanovski.
And drawing Poirier next month in what he claims may be his final foray at lightweight ahead of a run at the welterweight crown, Makhachev has vowed to likely finish the Lafayette native with relative ease at UFC 302, in the form of a one-sided rear-naked choke victory.
Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro – USA TODAY Sports
Dustin Poirier vows to KO Islam Makhachev at UFC 302
And responding to the Russian’s prediction, Poirier has issued a stern warning against Makhachev, vowing to knock him unconscious in the pair’s battle at the Prudential Center.
“I’m going to knock him (Islam Makhachev) unconscious,” Dustin Poirier told Yahoo! Sports. “And the ref’s gonna be pulling me off of him.”
In his most recent outing, Poirier rallied in the co-main event of UFC 299 back in March, stopping the run of Benoit Saint-Denis with a stunning second round knockout win in Miami, Florida.
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC
Winning interim spoils back in 2019, Poirier landed a unanimous decision win over recently-minted BMF champion, Max Holloway in the pair’s title fight rematch in Atlanta.
Who wins at UFC 302 next weekend: Islam Makhachev or Dustin Poirier?
On June 29, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor will make the walk to the octagon for the first time since July 2021.
McGregor takes on former lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout in the UFC 303 main event. Tickets for the event sold out almost immediately to see McGregor’s return, but Chael Sonnen believes “The Notorious” is going to lose to Chandler.
“Michael Chandler wins,” Sonnen said in an interview with Bloody Elbow. “You have the most disciplined guy in the sport arguably, and you have the most undisciplined guy in the sport for sure. It’s one of those situations where when you do this conversation, everyone’s going to be lazy like I’m going to be right now and say, ‘Conor’s got a puncher’s chance and if Chandler stands up with him’ so on and so forth.
“I don’t know where you get that idea, a puncher’s chance. I know that’s something fun people say, but you’ve got to go back to Michael Moorer dropping the belt to George Foreman. There’s no such thing as a puncher’s chance. The better guy wins, he wins every single time. Michael Chandler could go out there and box with Conor at this point. You don’t get better at something by not doing it.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has performed in some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters in recent history but he’ll take a stab at a film that might eventually get some Oscar buzz after transforming into MMA legend Mark Kerr for the new movie The Smashing Machine.
On Tuesday, A24, the independent studio producing the film, released a first look at Johnson as Kerr with production already underway on the project. Johnson stars as Kerr, a two-time UFC tournament champion who struggled with drug addiction throughout his career.
First look at Benny Safdie’s THE SMASHING MACHINE starring @TheRock and Emily Blunt. pic.twitter.com/GVC2XIHwGV
— A24 (@A24) May 21, 2024
The new photo also shows off recent Academy Award nominee Emily Blunt, who stars in the film alongside Johnson as she plays Kerr’s longtime girlfriend and now ex-wife, Dawn Staples. She also appeared prominently in the 2002 documentary of the same name that serves loosely as the basis for the upcoming movie.
In addition to Johnson looking like Kerr in the new photo from the film, he also got a chance to work with 55-year-old Ohio native as he continued his training to add authenticity to his portrayal of a former MMA champion.
Johnson showed off photos working alongside Kerr as he continues training even as production on the film gets underway.
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A post shared by Dwayne Johnson (@therock)
The Smashing Machine is directed by Benny Safdie in his first solo outing after previously partnering with brother Josh Safdie on projects like Uncut Gems, which also received some Oscar buzz. Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader also stars in the upcoming film after revealing that he was putting his fight career on hold for a few months after landing a role in the project.
There’s no release date for The Smashing Machine just yet but the film will likely land in theaters sometime in 2025.
Connor Hitchens, a one-time competitor for Cage Warriors, has died at the age of 26.
On Tuesday, the English promotion announced Hitchens’ death, as did amateur organization International Mixed Martial Arts Federation.
See their social media posts below.
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Cage Warriors featherweight Connor Hitchens.
The entire CW family extends heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.
RIP pic.twitter.com/ilwcAwQJsK
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) May 21, 2024
A message from IMMAF president Kerrith Brown on the tragic passing of Connor Hitchens:
”On behalf of the entire International Mixed Martial Arts Federation we are deeply saddened by the passing of Connor Hitchens.
We are forever grateful to Connor for his time on the IMMAF… pic.twitter.com/cG6lwpKOel
— IMMAF (@IMMAFed) May 21, 2024
Neither the time nor cause of death for Hitchens has been made public. MMA commentator Harry Williams was first to report the news.
Hitchens made his debut for Cage Warriors in April 2022 after winning six of his first seven pro bouts. Unfortunately for the English featherweight, he lost by second-round knockout to Manny Akpan. That would be the last fight of Hitchens’ career as he had not competed since.
Prior to turning pro, Hitchens put together an extensive amateur career, competing in almost 20 fights from 2013-2017. He held a decision wins over current undefeated Bellator standout Ciaran Clarke and recent PFL and Cage Warriors fighter Dominique Wooding.
IMMAF President Kerrith Brown wrote in a statement, “On behalf of the entire International Mixed Martial Arts Federation we are deeply saddened by the passing of Connor Hitchens.”
See more reactions to the tragic news from the MMA community below.
Absolutely horrendous news, RIP Connor. Rest easy young man. https://t.co/XMapssGrfV
— Marc Goddard (@marcgoddard_uk) May 21, 2024
Awful news. Very talented athlete but more importantly, a lovely young man and father. https://t.co/NVA2MIo8tm
— (@MMABrad48) May 20, 2024
Very sad, met & trained with him over in Liverpool, very nice lad great talent. Thoughts are with his family, RIP. https://t.co/0d3XJJc4jG
— Paul Redmond (@RedserMma) May 20, 2024
Sad to hear about his passing he was a good lad la https://t.co/U8J7ZQ5RwU
— @ShemRockBJJ (@shemrockmma) May 20, 2024
Rest in peace Conor https://t.co/vfFisZjOY1
— Nathan Kelly (@nathankelly_mma) May 20, 2024
RIP https://t.co/rLTE51xXDI
— Jake ‘White Kong’ Hadley (@JakeHadleyMMA) May 20, 2024
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently updated its official rankings in the wake of its UFC Vegas 92 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which took place last Sat. night (May 18, 2024) at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. That’s where Lerone Murphy announced his arrival in the Top 15 by turning away veteran striker Edson Barboza. In addition, strawweight mainstay Angela Hill cracked the strawweight Top 10 by submitting 115-pound bruiser Luana Pinheiro.
Get compete UFC Vegas 92 results and video highlights right here.
Here’s how UFC compiles its official rankings:
Rankings were generated by a voting panel made up of media members. The media members were asked to vote for who they feel are the top fighters in the UFC by weight-class and pound-for-pound. A fighter is only eligible to be voted on if they are in active status in the UFC. A fighter can appear in more than one weight division at a time. The champion and interim champion are considered to be in the top positions of their respective divisions and therefore are not eligible for voting by weight-class. However, the champions can be voted on for the pound-for-pound rankings.
Take a look at what the latest rankings field looks like courtesy of UFC.com. Note: (+/- = movement in rankings, T = tie, *NR = Not previously ranked).
MEN’S POUND-FOR-POUND
1. Islam Makhachev 2. Jon Jones 3. Leon Edwards 4. Alex Pereira 5. Ilia Topuria 6. Sean O’Malley 7. Alexander Volkanovski 8. Max Holloway 9. Dricus Du Plessis 10. Alexandre Pantoja 11. Israel Adesanya 12. Tom Aspinall 13. Charles Oliveira 14. Sean Strickland 15. Aljamain Sterling
FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Alexandre Pantoja
1. Brandon Royval 2. Brandon Moreno 3. Amir Albazi 4. Kai Kara France 5. Alex Perez 6. Muhammad Mokaev 7. Manel Kape 8. Matheus Nicolau 9. Steve Erceg 10. Tim Elliott 11. Matt Schnell 12. Tagir Ulanbekov 13. Tatsuro Taira 14. Su Mudaerji 15. David Dvorak
BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Sean O’Malley
1. Merab Dvalishvili 2. Cory Sandhagen 3. Petr Yan 4. Marlon Vera 5. Henry Cejudo 6. Deiveson Figueiredo 7. Song Yadong 8. Jose Aldo 9. Rob Font 10. Umar Nurmagomedov 11. Kyler Phillips 12. Mario Bautista 13. Dominick Cruz 14. Jonathan Martinez 15. Pedro Munhoz
FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Ilia Topuria
1. Alexander Volkanovski 2. Max Holloway 3. Brian Ortega 4. Yair Rodriguez 5. Movsar Evloev 6. Arnold Allen 7. Josh Emmett 8. Aljamain Sterling 9. (T) Giga Chikadze 9. (T) Calvin Kattar +1 11. Lerone Murphy *NR 12. Bryce Mitchell -1 13. Dan Ige 14. Diego Lopes 15. Edson Barboza -3
LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Islam Makhachev
1. Arman Tsarukyan 2. Charles Oliveira 3. Justin Gaethje 4. Dustin Poirier 5. Mateusz Gamrot 6. Michael Chandler 7. Beneil Dariush 8. Rafael Fiziev 9. Max Holloway 10. Renato Moicano 11. Dan Hooker 12. Jalin Turner 13. Benoit Saint-Denis 14. Rafael dos Anjos 15. Bobby Green
WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Leon Edwards
1. Kamaru Usman 2. Belal Muhammed 3. Shavkat Rakhmonov 4. Colby Covington 5. Jack Della Maddalena 6. Gilbert Burns 7. Ian Machado Garry 8. Sean Brady 9. Stephen Thompson 10. Geoff Neal 11. Joaquin Buckley 12. Neil Magny 13. Michael Page 14. Vicente Luque 15. Kevin Holland
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Dricus Du Plessis
1. Sean Strickland 2. Israel Adesanya 3. Robert Whittaker 4. Jared Cannonier 5. Marvin Vettori 6. Paulo Costa 7. Brendan Allen 8. Nassourdine Imavov 9. Jack Hermansson 10. Khamzat Chimaev 11. Roman Dolidze 12. Caio Borralho 13. Michel Pereira 14. Anthony Hernandez 15. Chris Curtis
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Alex Pereira
1. Jiri Prochazka 2. Magomed Ankalaev 3. Jamahal Hill 4. Jan Blachowicz 5. Aleksandar Rakic 6. Nikita Krylov 7. Johnny Walker 8. Khalil Rountree 9. Volkan Oezdemir 10. Anthony Smith 11. Carlos Ulberg 12. Bogdan Guskov 13. Alonzo Menifield 14. Azamat Murzakanov 15. Dominick Reyes
HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Jon Jones
1. Tom Aspinall 2. Ciryl Gane 3. Sergei Pavlovich 4. Curtis Blaydes 5. Alexander Volkov 6. Stipe Miocic 7. Jailton Almeida 8. Marcin Tybura 9. Serghei Spivac 10. Derrick Lewis 11. Tai Tuivasa 12. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 13. Alexandr Romanov 14. Marcos Rogerio De Lima 15. Rodrigo Nascimento
1. Julianna Pena 2. Ketlen Vieira 3. Mayra Bueno Silva 4. Kayla Harrison 5. Irene Aldana 6. Holly Holm 7. Macy Chiasson 8. Miesha Tate 9. Karol Rosa -1 10. Norma Dumont 11. Pannie Kianzad 12. Yana Santos 13. Julia Avila 14. Chelsea Chandler 15. Germaine De Randamie
You can expect these rankings to change in roughly two weeks, particularly in the lightweight division, following the UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, scheduled for Sat., June 1, 2024 at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
For much more on that upcoming fight card click here.
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