Cian Cowley is one of the men who was caught up in the Barclays Center rampage led by UFC star Conor McGregor following UFC 223 media day. As a result of the incident, Cowley and McGregor landed behind bars at the 78th precinct in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday night ahead of a Friday afternoon court appearance.
Cowley was hit with charges of misdemeanor assault and one count of criminal mischief.
Following his court appearance, Cowley had his bail set for $25,000, while also having an order protection placed on him in favor of Michael Chiesa, Ozzy Arias, Ray Borg, Ricardo Chico.
Chiesa and Borg were supposed to compete this weekend at UFC 223, but injuries suffered during the attack on their bus forced them to withdraw. Chiesa reportedly suffered multiple lacerations on his face, while Borg had glass particles in his eye.
McGregor and Cowley’s teammate, Artem Lobov, was also pulled from the card for his involvement in the incident.
The UFC issued the following statement on the matter:
During today’s media event at Barclays Center to promote UFC 223: Khabib vs. Holloway, Conor McGregor and Artem Lobov entered the building accompanied by over a dozen individuals. The group, which included McGregor and Lobov, vandalized the vehicle that contained a number of athletes competing at the event taking place this weekend.
NYPD was immediately alerted and is currently in the process of investigating the situation. UFC is working very closely with the New York Athletic Commission, Barclays Center security and law enforcement authorities. All parties are working together to ensure the highest standard of proper safety precautions are implemented to protect the fans and athletes.
The organization deems today’s disruption completely unacceptable and is currently working on the consequences that will follow. Immediately, Lobov has been removed from this weekend’s card and individuals involved in the incident are not welcome at tomorrow’s ceremonial weigh-in or Saturday’s event at Barclays Center.”
Who is Cian Cowley?
Like McGregor, Cowley is an Irish mixed martial artist out of SBG Ireland in Dublin. After an impressive amateur career where he compiled a 3-1 record, Cowley suffered defeat in his professional debut in March 2017. He has not returned to the cage since.
Cowley has a child with his longtime girlfriend, Clara Kearney, who is a Dublin-based make-up artist he has been involved with since 2006 and is also the owner of his own gym in the Dublin area. Before transitioning to mixed martial arts, Cowley was a Thai boxer who competed professionally 54 times.
An updated look at the UFC 223 fight card can be seen below:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10:00 p.m. ET)
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Al Iaquinta – for lightweight title
- Champ Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title
- Calvin Kattar vs. Renato Moicano
- Kyle Bochniak vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8:00 p.m. ET)
- Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
- Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Joe Lauzon
- Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings
- Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Evan Dunham
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:15 p.m. ET)
- Devin Clark vs. Michael Rodriguez
