SBG Ireland Lightweight Cian Cowley Speaks Out For The First Time About Being Arrested With Conor McGregor Back In April

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Just under two weeks before his return to the cage at BRAVE CF 18, Straight Blast Gym welterweight Cian Cowley has broken his silence on what is now commonly referred to as UFC 223’s “bus incident” that occurred back in April, where Conor McGregor, along with his teammates, allegedly stormed the Barclays Center after a media day was completed and attacked a bus that Khabib Nurmagomedov, his teammates, and a plethora of other fighters on the card were aboard.

Cian’s perspective on the whole incident is different than anybody else’s, however, because he was the sole member of the camp arrested alongside The Notorious One in Brooklyn. His description of everything that went on over the course of those thirty hours, because of that, is absolutely fascinating.

Details about what was planned to go down are sparse, because I don’t think much was planned, in the sense that Conor wasn’t thinking, “I’ll find a dolly to throw though the window of the bus!” on the private jet over from Ireland.

Details on the aftermath…those aren’t sparse. Cian tells Paddy Holohan on today’s No Shame Podcast that the team fled the scene, went back to their hotel in the city, and had absolutely no idea that what had just happened was as big a deal as it was. Cian goes on to say that they were watching the news, STUNNED that they were featured on it, and then just hours later a warrant was put out for Conor’s arrest. Where they were staying was no secret, so the police came right up to their room to take McGregor, and later on, that same process for Cian occurred.

What I found most interesting is that Cowley then goes on to describe what being in a holding cell with McGregor was like, and somehow in the months since the incident, I’d never even thought of this, but neither of them had any idea what was going on because of how different the Irish/American laws and treatment of crimes are. So there they are, Conor McGregor and Cian Cowley, in non-private holding cells (something I don’t even believe the Brady Four had to suffer for very long), shackled in lines with other New York City criminals to get their mugshots and fingerprints taken, and just completely unaware of what’s going to happen to them – only knowing that they’d have each other’s backs no matter what. Fucking crazy.

Cian says some inmates were even recognizing McGregor, and the “Mayweather thing was so new, then”, causing an apparent tension among the room. I suppose Floyd had some fans in that cell.

Once they were being transferred to an overnight holding cell, they both got their first real glimpse of just how massive a story this whole thing had become when they saw the amount of media waiting for them outside. I can’t imagine what was going through their heads on the ride to transfer them. When they finally got there, though, they did receive a cell to themselves. Cowley doesn’t seem like he recommends the prison experience, describing it as dreadful, boring, and a bit scary, unknowing of his future at that moment, and says that he and Conor just did pushups and shadowboxed to pass the time. Then, when a judge was available to see them, they were once again a bit shocked by the amount of media coverage this had gotten when entering the courtroom (fully equipped with a dolly cam), but thankful the whole thing was resolved as it was.

Personally, I thought they DEFINITELY received amazing treatment while in holding, I guess naively. I figured that literally no other prisoners were even getting a glimpse at Conor, I don’t know, I mean…how could there be no Team McGregor guys on the squad?! Cian says they got cups of water and fruit every few hours? Couldn’t have ran down the block and gotten the lads some Micky D’s? Whatever. It’s over now.

I don’t think I’ve ever shared the story of the first time that I met Cian, which is actually pretty funny, but basically, we were outside the King’s County Criminal Courthouse back in July, the day Conor and I originally met, and their hearing had just wrapped up. It was like, the one that was five minutes long. McGregor, Cowley, and their entire legal team walked out of the courthouse, the same way they came in, for McGregor to give a statement to the press, and it was pretty much mass chaos for a few seconds as nobody knew where to go. You can see it a little here at 1:09…

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In that brief moment, which unfortunately wasn’t caught on camera, Cian sort of backed into the barricade I was standing in front of – and the media all went towards Conor, in the opposite direction. So I put my hand on Cian’s shoulder gently, having never met or spoken with him a day in my life, and said “They’ll do fuckin’ nothin, Cian. You boys got this case in the bag, and I’ve got your backs.”

Cian looked at me like I had ten heads and might’ve mumbled a “Thanks?” as he walked away, but he was definitely confused as to why a twink with pipe cleaner arms was talking to him in the serious manner that I was.

Since then, though, I saw him in Vegas (well, actually, he saw me!) after the final UFC 229 Press Conference, and had a funny chat about the whole situation, and my court date, and whatnot. He’s a great dude, and a truly rewarding fighter to follow. If you don’t know his story, or thai boxing background, and think he’s just some random 1-1 professional fighter, I’d strongly urge you to watch this entire interview with Paddy Holohan (or listen to it in podcast form, search “No Shame Podcast”). Check out the other episodes of Paddy’s show if you’re into the Irish MMA scene as well, you’ll get a kick out of them. Great, chill conversations.