Hailey Cowan out of LFA 78 co-main event, hospitalized after weight cut ‘scare’

The Legacy Fighting Alliance’s UFC Fight Pass debut will be without its originally scheduled co-main event.

Flyweight contender Hailey Cowan announced on social media Thursday evening that she is out of her bout with Lisa Mauldin that was scheduled for Friday’s LFA 78 show in Belton, Texas. According to a video and message the 27-year-old posted on Instagram, she is withdrawing due to a ‘pretty big scare’ related to her weight cut that resulted in her going to the hospital.

Cowan has emerged as a top prospect for LFA after rattling off four straight wins to bounce back from a loss in her pro debut. According to her post, Cowan’s days of competing at 125 pounds are over.

“Woke up right where I was supposed to weight-wise and was in the sauna, everything was going good and then all of a sudden it was not,” Cowan said in the video. “We found out today that I am going to be the next bantamweight champion (laughs). Watch out bantamweights, I’m coming for you.

“Big fat sorry to LFA and to Lisa Mauldin, this was not how this was supposed to go. I’ve had, like, nine successful cuts and then this, so I’m sorry. I will be back in the cage soon, but I’ll be looking a little bit different at bantamweight.”

LFA 78 will be headlined by a bantamweight bout between Adrian Yanez and Kyle Estrada. Friday’s event marks the long-running promotion’s first event on the UFC Fight Pass streaming service after its broadcast relationship with AXS TV ended earlier this year.