It didn’t go to plan but Cian Cowley will have learned plenty from his mixed martial arts debut.
The 23-year-old, who made a name in Thai boxing, took his first amateur MMA bout at BAMMA 24 but couldn’t quite get his lethal stand-up to translate to the cage.
Cowley took on Liverpool’s Jay Moogan in a lightweight contest fought over three 3-minute rounds and battled valiantly but his inexperience in the grappling realm ultimately led to him dropping a unanimous decision to the English fighter.
Cowley, fighting out of Dublin’s Straight Blast Gym, looked to cut off the cage early and was scything with his right leg kicks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCQiQtnI3Er/?taken-by=cian_c
Moogan wasn’t too fond of the chopping strikes to his left thigh and before long, decided to put Cowley’s defensive wrestling to the test.
The fight went to the ground and the round ended that way, with Cowley regaining guard before the buzzer went but it was a clear 10-9 for the Brit.
Moogan came out bouncing on his left foot, looking to check the vicious leg kicks of the Irish prospect. He ate the hardest of the fight before, again, jumping on a double leg takedown.
He moved quickly from side control to mount and hammered away with left hands for the remainder of the second round, recording another 10-9.
Cowley knew he had to stem the tide and he did so in impressive fashion, putting his superior striking experience on display against a tiring Moogan.
Welcome to @SBG_Ireland @CianCowley pic.twitter.com/Mnk7LK6qqV
— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) August 24, 2015
An uppercut landed flush for Cowley and Moogan was backed up by the oncoming pressure of the Irishman.
As Cowley went in for the kill, Moogan saw the opportunity to drag the bout back into the grappling realm but Cowley clearly had the better gas tank as he swept Moogan at the end of the round to take it but it was too little too late.
The 3Arena judges awarded Moogan the 29-28 victory and it gives Cowley a vital learning curve in his burgeoning, young career as a mixed martial artist.
Once Cowley gets more than a few months grappling under his belt, he is going to cause a major problem for all lightweights as his striking is almost matchless at this level.
