The Takeover 6 was by far the biggest show to date for promoter Cian Cowley. A large crowd turned up and they were treated to a super night of Muay Thai action. The show began as a way for Cian to get all his fighters at Warriors match-ups but it has steadily gone from strength to strength and gathered a lot of support.

Speaking exclusively to Fightstore Media Cian Cowley said, ”It was a great night. We wrapped up bang on eleven o’clock. Everyone says that we won’t get thirty fights done by eleven o’clock but we always do. None of the fighters are badly injured. Once the fighters and the crowd leaves happy then I’m happy.”

He explained why it was such a popular show and why so many people packed into Naomh Olaf GAA club to watch the action. “There’s no other local shows around here, the rest of the shows are always up the Northside. All my fighters live in the same kind of area within a five minute drive of each other so when I have the show smack bang in the middle everyone comes to it. When I started the first one I matched everyone in my gym – 15 lads – and they all brought their families to it. It’s just kept growing and now it’s getting to the stage were people are starting to travel from all over the country,” he said.

One of the most impressive fights of the night was between Daryl Flood (Warriors) and Glen Kelly (Forge Muay Thai). Flood was hugely impressive and eased to victory with a dominant display.

“I don’t really need to say much for him. His fighting speaks for itself. I always said it since his first ever fight that he’s the future. He’s had a few ups and downs in his last few fights where he’s been beaten but there’s no one his age that can compete with him. That young lad that he fought was nineteen or twenty. There’s no one sixteen/seventeen that can go with Daryl. That’s why he has to fight men. He hasn’t got that man strength yet but that is coming.”

“It’s scary! He has all the tricks in the book but I’m just waiting for him to get that strength. Once that and the aggression comes into him he’s definitely going to be world level, he has everything. He lives in the gym. He teaches the kids in the gym and I teach the adults class. He’s there from four o’clock right up until ten o’clock every day and he loves it,” said Cowley.

John Mooney received the biggest reception of the night when he kicked off proceedings with a debut victory over Matino (Warriors). Cian was full of praise for his fighter and talked about the hard work and dedication John gives every day in the gym.

“John’s been in the gym with us a couple of years. He comes down three times a week to the gym and trains hard every session. He comes in and does what he’s told and trains full on. He’s always been telling me that he wants to fight. He comes and watches all the fights with us and tries to replicate everything that he sees. He watches watches clips of Thai boxing on Youtube all day long. I was a bit sceptical about putting it on because I taught a few people might frown upon it but I know him long enough. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think he was capable. He ended up punching the head off Matino.”

Cian has had a huge effect of John’s life and it’s clear to see how much they care about each other. It is hard for Cowley to think about the way he has changed people’s lives since taking over as Head Coach of Warriors.

“It’s madness! I do think about that sometimes. John’s mother and sisters are always telling me that what we do down in the gym for him in amazing. No other sports team or youth club could get him as happy. Every day he wakes up waiting to go training and his whole week is about training. All he’s been talking about the last two months was ‘The Takeover’ and now he’s going to be talking about it for the next six months. I’ll throw him in the next one again. It’s very hard with Down syndrome people his age, John doesn’t see himself as having a disability that’s why he’s always asking ‘Why can’t I fight in cage kings, etc. It’s great because he puts life into our gym. If it’s a bad week where everyone is cutting weight or injuries he’ll come in and make everyone happy. John creates a great buzz in the gym.”

Cian also hinted at getting John on the card of a big promotion in the future. “I keep telling him we’ll build it up and hopefully I can get him on one of the cage kings in a couple of years just for the crowd. He loves it, he’ll be living for the next one,” he said.

Kyle Cowley also competed on the night. He won via split decision and his older brother was more than happy for him. “Kyle’s been training with me as long as I can remember. That was his first fight back in about a year. His opponent was a lot bigger than him but Kyle has that mentality where he thinks he can beat anyone. He’s only ten and he has that mentality. I’m very proud of him. He’s had a couple of international fights now as well so that’s great for him,” said Cian.

It’s been a busy few months for Cian Cowley as he made the transition in the world of MMA. He joined SBG and now trains alongside the likes of Conor McGregor and Gunnar Nelson. Cowley is determined to make a name for himself and be successful in his career.

“That’s been crazy over the last four/five months. Since I had that Cage Kings fight that’s when I made the decision that I need to make the switch. Over the last three years I’ve seen the change in the media and all the attention on MMA so in one way for me it’ll benefit Warriors too. We’re getting a lot of exposure now because I’m getting lots of exposure. I’m being smart marketing myself whereas most fighters don’t. There’s loads of attention on me and the gym. I’m going to try my best to go as far as I can with the MMA but still have Warriors and still fight Thai.”

“When I have MMA fights lined up I’ll take six weeks away from the gym but the lads can look after it for me. I want a couple of MMA fights a year and get a good name. I want to make money to buy a new gym. It’s hard when you’re renting because I don’t want to pump too much money into in then you get thrown out. I’d love to have a full time facility that’s just mine. Once I have that I’ll be happy. I want to retire young, I don’t want to be fighting for my wages when I’m fourty. I want to make a few quid and retire as a coach in the gym. That’s my plan and that’s why I think MMA is a good route. I have a kid on the way now and I wouldn’t get enough from Thai boxing as I would in MMA,” he said.

Cowley told FightStore Media that he plans to make his debut in February but when pushed on whether he’d be on the BAMMA 24 card he said that he couldn’t say.

“I don’t know that’s up to John but to be honest I’d rather amateur because I could fight four/five fights every three weeks. But I don’t think you’re allowed do that in pro’s. If it’s pro it’ll be a bit slower. I’d love to have a couple of warm up fights first and then go straight into pros. If I go pro straight away I’ll probably be fighting someone who’s had a lot of fights. I don’t care who I fight but it is about the record at the end of the day. You have to be careful with that,” he said.

Cian wanted to thank ‘everyone in the gym who supports him and all his mates and family, and everyone who came out to support ‘The Takeover 6’.