Leah McCourt (born 21 June 1992) is a Northern Irish professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and

submission grappler Submission wrestling, also known as submission grappling, submission fighting, or simply grappling, is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates element ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Background

McCourt, who grew up on a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

in Belfast, was enrolled in judo as a child by her father. From the age of 11, she quit judo and all her spare time was spent riding ponies and horses, competing around Northern Ireland at places like Balmoral and the Dublin Horseshow. When she was a teenager, McCourt developed an allergy towards horses, leading her to give up riding. She first started training at a mixed martial arts (MMA) gym aged 18, after giving birth to her daughter Isabella . McCourt signed an exclusive multi-year fight sports equipment and sports apparel agreement with

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage names Everlast and Whitey Ford, is an American Rapping, rapper, Singing, singer, and songwriter who was the Lead vocalist, frontman for Hip hop music, hip hop group House of Pain. ...

is the first female athlete to be placed on an apparel deal from the UK.

Amateur mixed martial arts career

McCourt started her MMA career in Clan Wars MMA, debuting on 7 June 2014 at Clan Wars 19, winning the fight versus Sarah Louise Scott by armbar submission. On 1 November 2014 McCourt lost from Aoife Murphy at Clan Wars 20 by TKO (punches). In November 2015, she won the

IMMAF The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) was founded on 29 February 2012 as the international governing body for Amateur sports, amateur Mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA). Registered as a non-profit organization under Sw ...

- European Open Championships in the 155 lbs division by defeating Sini Koivunen (by armbar submission) and Mia Isola (by unanimous decision). In November 2016, McCourt won the 2016 IMMAF World Championships after defeating Yvonne Chow (by Kimura submission), Taryn Conklin (by Kimura submission), and Julia Dorny (by TKO).

Professional mixed martial arts career

McCourt made her professional MMA debut on at ''CWFC 85 - Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 85'', losing by Rizlen Zouak via TKO (Punches) in Round 2. On 16 June 2018, McCourt took part at ''CW 94 - Cage Warriors 94'' and won the fight versus

Manon Fiorot Manon Caroline Fiorot (born February 17, 1990) is a French mixed martial artist, currently competing in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of April 2, 2024, she is #2 in the UFC women's flyweight ran ...

by split decision. After this win, McCourt signed a six-fight deal with

. McCourt made her Bellator debut against

Hatice Özyurt Hatice Ozyurt (born 23 May 1987) is a Dutch people, Dutch female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Steenwijk, Netherlands. She has competed professionally since 2010 and a World Association of Kickboxing Organizations, WAKO-Pro runner ...

at Bellator 217 on 23 February 2019. At weigh-ins, Ozyurt came in at 148lbs and was fined 20 per cent of her fight purse. She won the bout via doctor stoppage after the doctor stopped the fight at the end of the first round due to a cut under Hatice's eye. McCourt won her sophomore performance on 27 September 2019 at Bellator 227 versus Kerry Hughes by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke). McCourt faced Judith Ruis at Bellator 240 on 22 February 2020. However, on February 4, it was announced that James Gallagher pulled out of the event due to a back injury, thus a McCourt's bout was bumped to the main event. In the process, she became the first woman to headline a MMA event in Europe. McCourt won the bout via unanimous decision. After her win against Ruis, McCourt had surgery in two places on her right shoulder, which prevented her from fighting again in 2020. McCourt faced

Janay Harding Janay Harding (born September 28, 1994) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She is most notable for her time in Bellator MMA. Background Harding was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but moved to Aus ...

on 21 May 2021 at

Bellator 259 Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by Bellator MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background The event featured a Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the ch ...

. At the weigh-ins, McCourt weighed in at 149.4 pounds, three and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and McCourt was fined a percentage of her purse, which went to her opponent Harding. After McCourt caught Harding with an upkick, McCourt locked in the triangle choke and won the bout in the second round. McCourt faced Jessica Borga on 1 October 2021 at

Bellator 267 ''Bellator 267: Lima vs. MVP 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on October 1, 2021, at Wembley Arena in London, England. Background Former three-time champion Douglas Lima returned to the cage for the f ...

. She won the one-sided bout via unanimous decision. McCourt faced

Sinead Kavanagh Sinead Kavanagh is an Irish female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Bellator MMA. Fight Matrix had her ranked at #10 in Women's Featherweight from April 2021 till July 2021, and March 2022. She is currently r ...

on 25 February 2022 at

Bellator 275 Bellator 275: Mousasi vs. Vanderford was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on February 25, 2022, at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Background In the main event, Gegard Mousasi defended his Middleweight titl ...

. McCourt lost the bout via unanimous decision. McCourt faced

Dayana Silva Dayana Silva (born August 17, 1990) is a Brazilian female mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division. A professional MMA fighter since 2009, she has formerly competed in Bellator MMA. ...

on 23 September 2022 at

Bellator 285 ''Bellator 285: Henderson vs. Queally'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on 23 September 2022 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Background Bellator returned to Dublin for the second time in 2022, feat ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. McCourt faced

Cat Zingano Cat Zingano (née Albert; born July 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. Zingano also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and on Apri ...

on March 31, 2023 at

Bellator 293 ''Bellator 293: Golm vs. James'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on March 31, 2023, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California, United States. Background The event marked the promotion's ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. McCourt faced

Sara McMann Sara McMann (born September 24, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. She is a former Olympic wrestler and received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympi ...

on October 7, 2023 at

Bellator 300 ''Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on October 7, 2023, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, United States Background The event marked the promotion's secon ...

. She won the fight by ground and pound TKO in the first round. McCourt was scheduled to rematch

on March 22, 2024 at

Bellator Champions Series 1 ''Bellator Champions Series 1: Anderson vs. Moore'' (also known as ''Bellator Champions Series Belfast'' and ''Bellator 302'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, that took place on March 22, 2024, at the SSE Arena in Belfas ...

. On February 20, McCourt announced that she was out of the bout after suffering broken ribs and a torn oblique. McCourt faced

Sara Collins Sara Collins is a Jamaican-born Caymanian-British novelist and former lawyer. She earned a Costa Book Award for her 2019 historical fiction novel ''The Confessions of Frannie Langton''. Early life and law Collins was born in Kingston, Jamaica ...

in a Bellator Women's Featherweight title eliminator on September 14, 2024 at Bellator Champions Series 5, losing the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Submission grappling career

McCourt competed and won

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

at the 2016

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu-Jitsu ...

World No-Gi Championship in the adult/female/ blue belt/medium-heavy division. McCourt competed at the 2018 IBJJF European No-Gi Championship. After defeating the only other competitor in the adult/female/

purple belt Purple Belt may refer to the following: *Purple belt, a rank in martial arts (see Kyū) **Purple belt (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), a level in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ranking system *A road in the Allegheny County belt system#Purple_Belt, Allegheny County ...

/medium-heavy division, she entered and won the adult/female/purple belt/open division. McCourt competed and won gold at the 2021 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship in the adult/female/ brown belt/medium-heavy division.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur mixed martial arts

International Mixed Martial Arts Federation The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) was founded on 29 February 2012 as the international governing body for amateur mixed martial arts (MMA). Registered as a non-profit organization under Swedish law, IMMAF serves as a democ ...

** 2016

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, 1st place (145 lbs/women's featherweight) ** 2015 European Open, 1st place (155 lbs/lightweight female)

Submission grappling

International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu-Jit ...

** 2021

IBJJF No-Gi World Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship is a no- gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the IBJJF commonly held at California State University in Long Beach, California. It was most recently held December 11-14, 2024 in ...

, 1st place (adult/female/ brown belt/medium-heavy) ** 2018 IBJJF No-Gi European Championship, 1st place (adult/female /purple belt/open) ** 2016 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship, 1st place (adult/female/ blue belt/medium-heavy)

Mixed martial arts record

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Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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Hatice Ozyurt Hatice (also Hadice, Hatçe) is an Arabic-origin Turkish feminine given name and Turkish variant of Khadija. It means trust worthy, highly respected and early born baby girl. People Notable people with this name include: Ottoman period * Hatice ...

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, England ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCourt, Leah 1992 births Living people Female mixed martial artists from Northern Ireland Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Muay Thai practitioners from Northern Ireland Female Muay Thai practitioners Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners from Northern Ireland Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Female judoka from Northern Ireland Bellator MMA champions Bellator female fighters 21st-century sportswomen from Northern Ireland Sportspeople from Belfast

Background

Amateur mixed martial arts career

Professional mixed martial arts career

Submission grappling career

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur mixed martial arts

Submission grappling

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References