Hailey Cowan to make UFC debut vs. Ailin Perez in February
Hailey Cowan has her first UFC assignment.
At the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for Feb. 25, Cowan (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take on promotional sophomore Ailin Perez (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC). While no location has been announced yet, the card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas pending unforeseen changes.
Contracts for the bantamweight bout have not yet been signed, but verbal agreements are in place.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the impending booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Cowan, 30, signed a contract with the UFC after a successful Dana White’s Contender Series split decision performance in August. The win over Claudia Leite marked her seventh win in her most recent eight outings and received praise from UFC president Dana White.
Perez, 28, made her UFC debut in September up a weight class against Stephanie Egger. Although she lost by second-round submission, Perez increased her notoriety the day prior with ceremonial faceoff twerking that went viral.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Feb. 25 includes:
- Jordan Leavitt vs. Victor Martinez
- Denys Bondar vs. Ode Osbourne
- Hailey Cowan vs. Ailin Perez
