Husband and coach of UFC fighter arrested for alleged sexual abuse of child
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.