#breaking news – A Waco-area mixed martial arts coach is accused of sexually abusing a girl he trained over a three-year period, an affidavit states. Information: https://t.co/QO5jWq34GN pic.twitter.com/O1P9ipCrJs
— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx)
May 20, 2024
Jacob Brennan, husband and coach of UFC fighter Hayley Cowan, has been arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor.
Brennan was arrested and booked into the McLennan County (Texas) Jail on May 19 on suspicion of inappropriately touching women between 2013 and 2015, KWTX 10 reported. The victim was 13 years old at the time of the alleged abuse. Brennan was 30 years old. Brennan is charged with indecency with a child involving sexual contact, a second-degree felony in Texas punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
Brennan, 40, is the owner of Next Generation MMA/Blitz MMA in Waco. According to her affidavit, the victim told investigators that Brennan “kissed her hundreds of times between 2013 and 2015 and touched her vagina hundreds of times over and under her clothes.” “I also touched him,” he said. The alleged abuse occurred “almost every day, in various rooms within the gym.” The victim met with police on November 2, 2023 and spoke about her alleged sexual abuse.
The victim also provided investigators with Facebook messages from Brennan in which he said he “loved her” and “told her about kissing.” Gym members who became aware of the abuse confronted Brennan, the report said. The coach “appeared to be giving them conflicting stories and lying about the nature of the messages,” according to the affidavit.
Cowan married Brennan in 2022. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, Cowan lost a unanimous decision to Jamie Lyn Horse in his Octagon debut at UFC on ESPN 45 in April 2023. She has not played in a match since that loss.
