Echo Women in Sport award: Cork teen Louise Brady making an impact in MMA

WHEN you think of Mixed Martial Arts, most likely the first name that comes to mind is Conor McGregor.

He has helped to bring MMA more into the view of the public there is far more to the sport than the image Conor portrays.

Is it for the faint-hearted? Most definitely not, but spend a few minutes in the company of Louise Brady and you will get a far different impression of the sport.

The North Pres Secondary School student recently won the World Youth MMA championships in Abu Dhabi.

Quietly spoken and some might consider bordering on shy once she steps into that ring Louise is a far different prospect, and from a young age has shown a determination to reach the top of her chosen sport and she is far from finished in that regard.

For those who are unsure what MMA is it’s the combination of most combat sports that you would see in the Olympics. In terms of striking it combines all of the techniques from boxing, kickboxing, Thai boxing, karate, and taekwondo. While the general principle is the same for these striking sports (land strikes on your opponent without getting hit yourself), there are variations between how a person moves depending on their background, how they defend, and how they throw punches and kicks. 

1. Grappling while standing - eg judo which uses leverage and momentum to get your opponent to the ground or wrestling which utilises a vast array of locks and grips to drag your opponent to the mat. 

2. Grappling while on the ground eg Brazilian Jiu Jitsu which utilises sweeps and submissions in order to control and eventually submit your opponent. 

So what drew an 11-year-old Louise into the sport and what were her thoughts having attended her first training session? Then there is the grappling side of MMA. Which can be broken down into

“I was doing taekwondo about seven or eight years ago and I was only doing it part-time and I wanted to try to do something new,” said Louise, “my brother was always watching MMA on the telly and I got interested in it. I started searching around for clubs in Cork and my brother when to school with the lads who own this club (MMA Cork) Aaron and Jack Maguire, so I can came down and tried it.

“I was 11 at the time and was a small bit nervous when I was coming in but Aaron and Jack both came up to me straight away and their sister, Fiadh, was also there so I had one sparring partner to train with straight away.

INSTANT

“Instantly I loved it, it takes time to build up some of the skills but from day one I was hooked. I had my first fight at 11 against a 17-year-old girl but it is very controlled. My first MMA was when I was 12 against a girl of the same age in another gym here in Cork.

“After that, I was finding it difficult to find any girls for MMA fights so I did a number of Jiu-Jitsu (on the ground fights) so there are no punches and you are going for submissions.

“They are very strict rules to what we are allowed do, things like we can’t hit to the head or go for certain submissions. 

People might see Conor McGregor hitting to the head when they are on the ground but things like that aren’t allowed for us.

“Once I got to about 14 I got a few fights, I did kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, wrestling to get fights and as I started getting older I got more fights. I built up to national level and got on the Irish team last year and then got back on it this year.”

In that time Louise won the Irish Cadet (Youth) National title and still currently holds that crown, having won it in 2021 and 2022.

But that doesn’t automatically get you on the Irish team. You have to go through a strict process to be selected to represent your country, where they test out your techniques across various areas of MMA.

No surprise Louise passed with flying colours and then attended team training in Dublin most weekends – with 40 approximately on the Irish team, aged 12 to 17.

This led to her heading to Bulgaria last year for the world championships and Louise came home with a bronze medal.

To get to that stage you have to go through a round-robin series before winning the title.

Last year I got a feel for the competition, it’s very Eastern European dominated so my experience last year was I needed to get stronger and improve my Jiu Jitsu and wrestling in particular.”

That Louise and roll on 12 months and she headed to Abu Dhabi to try and turn the bronze medal into a gold one.

“I knew this was my last year of being able to compete so I set myself the target of going for gold and I put a bit of pressure on myself. Even in the warm-up area I was very nervous and the lads were laughing at me saying you will be grand and relax.”

Louise said her nerves settled after the first fight as she got used to the ring, lights, and crowds that attended the championships.

She then found herself in a winner takes all fight against a South African fighter, with both knowing the gold medal was at stake.

And true to form the South African didn’t stand a chance against a determined Louise who tried to describe that winning moment.

“As you are throwing on the submission you are preparing in your head for the win. Then she tapped and submitted and I look to the lads [Aaron and Jack] and they were saying the same as me – did we do it?

“Even though she tapped you have to wait for the official announcement and I knew then I won and it was as much relief as excitement to know I won. My dad was out there and I had to go outside to meet him as he couldn’t get near the ring and it was just really special to celebrate with him.”

Few days later and she was back in Cork to a huge reception in Farranree, organised by her mum Ber, where she got the welcome she deserved as a world champion.

But Louise is not taking it easy and hopes to be back in the ring next month but is also conscious that she is doing her Leaving Cert this year and needs to concentrate on that.

But once she finishes school Louise hopes to go to UCC but also hopes to maybe become a full-time athlete.

So watch this space as this teenager is going places and has a bright future ahead of her.