Molly McCann

Molly Maria McCann[1] (born 4 May 1990)[2] is an English mixed martial artist. She is a one-time Cage Warriors Fighting Championship Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Molly McCann
BornMolly Maria McCann[1]
(1990-05-04) 4 May 1990
Liverpool, England[2]
Other namesMeatball
Height5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Weight125 lb (57 kg; 8 st 13 lb)
DivisionFlyweight
Reach62 in (157 cm)[3]
Fighting out ofLiverpool, England
TeamNext Generation MMA (2013–present)[4][5]
RankPurple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[6] under Paul Rimmer[7]
Years active2015–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins12
By knockout5
By decision7
Losses4
By submission1
By decision3
UniversityLiverpool John Moores University
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

McCann was born into a broken home: her father was not around and mother had substance abuse problems, so she was partially raised by her aunt.[8] She grew up in Norris Green area with two sisters.[8] Initially she trained karate, kickboxing and Thai boxing before starting boxing around the age of 12.[8] She then played football for five years before starting mixed martial arts training in 2013.[8] In her early years as a fighter, she supported herself by working in a branch of sandwich chain Subway, which earned her the nickname "Meatball Molly".[9]

McCann graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a degree in sports development and physical education.[3] Molly McCann is a lesbian.[10]

McCann is a close friend of fellow Liverpudlian MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett and a supporter of Everton Football Club. Politically, she is an opponent of the Conservative Party.[9]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

McCann fought most of her early MMA career in England, fighting out of her native Liverpool. She fought for the MMA promotion Shock N' Awe, where she won the vacant Shock N' Awe Flyweight Championship and also defended it once. McCann also won the vacant Cage Warriors Fighting Championship Women's Flyweight Championship in 2018 against Bryony Tyrell.[11] After competing on the regional circuit, she amassed a record of 7–1 before signing with the UFC.[12]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McCann made her UFC debut on 27 May 2018, against Gillian Robertson at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till.[13] At the weigh-ins, she weighed in at 127 pounds, a single pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. She was fined 20% of her purse, which went to Robertson.[14] She lost the fight via a rear-naked choke in round two.[15]

Her second fight came on 15 March 2019, facing Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal.[16] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

McCann faced Ariane Lipski on 22 June 2019 at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Korean Zombie.[18] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[19] Shortly after the fight, McCann signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC.[20]

McCann faced Diana Belbiţă on 18 October 2019 at UFC on ESPN 6.[21] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[22]

McCann was scheduled to face Ashlee Evans-Smith on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards.[23] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed.[24] Instead McCann faced Taila Santos on 16 July 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige.[25] She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[26]

McCann faced Lara Procópio on 6 February 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov.[27] She lost the fight via unanimous decision.[28]

McCann faced Ji Yeon Kim on 4 September 2021 at UFC Fight Night 191.[29] She won the fight via unanimous decision.[30] The back-and-forth bout won both contestants the Fight of the Night bonus award.[31]

McCann faced Luana Carolina on March 19, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 204.[32] She won the fight via knockout after landing a spinning back elbow in round three.[33] With this win, she received the Performance of the Night award.[34]

McCann is scheduled to face Miranda Maverick on July 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 211.[35]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
16 matches 12 wins 4 losses
By knockout 5 0
By submission 0 1
By decision 7 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 12–4 Luana Carolina KO (spinning back elbow) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall March 19, 2022 3 1:52 London, England Performance of the Night.
Win 11–4 Ji Yeon Kim Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till September 4, 2021 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Loss 10–4 Lara Procópio Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov February 6, 2021 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 10–3 Taila Santos Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige July 16, 2020 3 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 10–2 Diana Belbiţă Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman October 18, 2019 3 5:00 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Belbiţă was deducted a point in round 2 for grabbing the cage.
Win 9–2 Ariane Lipski Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Korean Zombie June 22, 2019 3 5:00 Greenville, South Carolina, United States
Win 8–2 Priscila Cachoeira Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal March 16, 2019 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 7–2 Gillian Robertson Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till May 27, 2018 2 2:05 Liverpool, England Catchweight (127 lb) bout; McCann missed weight.
Win 7–1 Bryony Tyrell TKO (punches) Cage Warriors 90 February 24, 2018 2 1:32 Liverpool, England Won the vacant Cage Warriors Women's Flyweight Championship.
Win 6–1 Priscila de Souza Decision (unanimous) Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 88 October 28, 2017 3 5:00 Liverpool, England
Win 5–1 Lacey Schuckman Decision (unanimous) Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 82 April 1, 2017 3 5:00 Liverpool, England
Win 4–1 Anjela Pink TKO (knees to the body and punches) Shinobi War 9 November 26, 2016 1 0:50 Liverpool, England
Win 3–1 Macicilia Benkhettache TKO (punches) Shock N' Awe 23 October 1, 2016 2 1:15 Portsmouth, England Defended the SNA Women's Flyweight Championship.
Win 2–1 Valérie Domergue Decision (split) Shock N' Awe 22 April 1, 2016 3 5:00 Portsmouth, England Won the vacant SNA Women's Flyweight Championship.
Loss 1–1 Vanessa Melo Decision (unanimous) XFC International 12 November 28, 2015 3 5:00 São Paulo, Brazil Flyweight debut.
Win 1–0 Katy Horlick TKO (punches) Shock N' Awe 20 May 30, 2015 1 3:12 Portsmouth, England Catchweight (132 lb) bout.

[37]

See also

Books
  • Molly Meatball McCann - BE TRUE TO YOU: A story about coming out, Self-published (30 June 2021), ISBN 979-8500961419[38][39]

References
  1. Mixed martial arts show results Date: September 4, 2021
  2. "Tapology". www.tapology.com. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  3. "Molly McCann | UFC". www.ufc.com. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  4. Alexander K. Lee (18 April 2020). "Molly McCann encourages women to get into combat sports: 'It will change your life forever'". mmafighting.com.
  5. Ciaran Varley (12 October 2019). ""It's cool to be different": Molly McCann on how she trains and why she fights". BBC.
  6. Peter Carroll (8 January 2019). "Molly McCann on personal growth, overcoming anxiety following 'sore' loss in Liverpool debut". MMA Fighting.
  7. @meatballmolly (20 December 2018). "(...) Tonigt [sic] I was given my purple belt by my coach @nextgenmmalpool (...)". Retrieved 14 July 2020 – via Instagram.
  8. Paddy Holohan (13 August 2019). 'Meatball' Molly McCann UFC Flyweight Next Gen Liverpool No Shame Pocast #089 – via YouTube.
  9. McRae, Donald (2022). "Fighting for Liverpool: Paddy the Baddy and Meatball Molly's UFC takeover". Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. "UFC's Molly McCann: 'I ran from my sexuality until the wheels fell off'". Independent.co.uk. 23 February 2022.
  11. "[Video] Watch Molly McCann Win The Vacant Cage Warriors Flyweight Title". MMAnytt.com. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  12. Sherdog.com. "Molly". Sherdog. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  13. Marcel Dorff (3 April 2018). "Molly McCann maakt UFC debuut tegen Gillian Robertson tijdens UFC Liverpool MMA DNA". mmadna.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  14. Staff (26 May 2018). "UFC Fight Night 130 weigh-in results: Darren Till heavy but headliner still on (Updated)". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  15. "Gillian Robertson Puts Molly McCann to Sleep". Caged Insider. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  16. "Molly McCann Faces Priscila Cachoeira At UFC London". MMAnytt.com. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  17. "UFC London results: Molly McCann brawls her way past Priscila Cachoeira". MMA Junkie. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  18. Sherdog.com. "Ariane Lipski vs. Molly McCann Added to UFC Greenville on June 22". Sherdog. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  19. "UFC 154: Molly McCann beats Ariane Lipski in South Carolina". 23 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  20. Farah Hannoun (5 July 2019). "Molly McCann signs new four-fight deal with UFC". mmajunkie.com.
  21. Martin, Damon (20 August 2019). "Molly McCann, Deron Winn fights announced for UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  22. Doherty, Dan (18 October 2019). "UFC Boston Results: Pressure of Meatball Molly McCann Too Much for Debuting Belbita". Cageside Press. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  23. Marcel Dorff (4 December 2019). "Home fight for Molly McCann against Ashlee Evans-Smith during UFC London". mmadna.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.(in Dutch)
  24. Nolan King and John Morgan (15 March 2020). "UFC postpones three events amid growing coronavirus outbreak". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  25. "Molly McCann treft Taila Santos tijdens UFC evenement op 15 juli in Abu Dhabi". mmadna.nl (in Dutch). 10 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  26. Doherty, Dan (15 July 2020). "UFC Fight Island 1 Results: Taila Santos Outmatches Molly McCann". Cageside Press. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  27. Marcel Dorff (19 October 2020). "Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio toegevoegd aan UFC evenement op 6 februari 2021". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  28. Anderson, Jay (6 February 2021). "UFC Vegas 18 Results: Lara Procopio's Grappling Too Much for Molly McCann". Cageside Press. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  29. Shelton, Cole (13 July 2021). "Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Dalcha Lungiambula moved to UFC London as August 14 card officially gets canceled". MyMMANews.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  30. Evanoff, Josh (4 September 2021). "UFC Vegas 36 Results: Molly McCann Defeats Ji Yeon Kim in Slugfest". Cageside Press. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  31. "UFC Fight Night 191 bonuses: Tom Aspinall's first-round finish, Paddy Pimblett's debut TKO among extra $50k earners". MMA Junkie. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  32. Marcel Dorff (3 December 2021). "Twee Flyweight gevechten toegevoegd aan beoogde "UFC London" card op 19 maart". MMA DNA (in Dutch). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  33. Law, Eddie (19 March 2022). "UFC London: Molly McCann Earns Highlight Reel Knockout Over Carolina". Cageside Press. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  34. "UFC Fight Night 204 bonuses: Nine fighters go home with $50,000". MMA Junkie. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  35. Behunin, Alex; Anderson, Jay; Anderson, Alex Behunin and Jay (3 May 2022). "Miranda Maverick Game to Fight Molly McCann at UFC London in July". Cageside Press. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  36. Mike Bohn (1 April 2022). "MMA Junkie's Knockout of the Month for March: A spinning elbow for the ages". MMAjunkie.com.
  37. Sherdog.com. "Molly". Sherdog. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  38. BE TRUE TO YOU: A story about coming out by Molly McCann. Explore Liverpool. 30 June 2021. ISBN 979-8500961419. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  39. BE TRUE TO YOU: A story about coming out. 8 May 2021.
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