Cory McKenna (born 11 July 1999) is a Welsh professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes as a strawweight for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. She has also competed for

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish owned mixed martial arts promotion, based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under the Cage Warrio ...

Early life and background

Born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, McKenna spent the majority of her childhood in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, England due to her father's role in the army. Her mother, Wendy, also competes in mixed martial arts and has a professional record of 1–2. McKenna began training in karate aged 10, and after advancing through

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

and

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, started training in mixed martial arts aged 13. She became a full-time athlete two years later while occasionally coaching to help fund fights. As an amateur, McKenna went 7–0 and held championships at strawweight and featherweight.

Mixed martial arts career

Cage Warriors

In March 2018, McKenna made her professional debut at

91 and beat Maria Vittoria Colonna after a first-round retirement. She faced Eva Dourthe three months later at Cage Warriors 94 and won via

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...

. In September 2018, McKenna suffered her first defeat after a split decision loss against Micol Di Segni at Cage Warriors 97. In April 2019, McKenna faced Fannie Redman at Cage Warriors 104. She won the fight via

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

in the second round. A month later, she beat Giulia Chinello at Cage Warriors 105 via ground and pound in the first round. In October 2019, McKenna was due to fight Griet Eeckhout at Cage Warriors 108, but the fight was cancelled after her opponent failed to make weight. In April 2020, her fight with Lanchana Green was also called off after Cage Warriors 114 was cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions.

Dana White's Contender Series

On 11 August 2020, McKenna appeared on Dana White's Contender Series 2020. After winning via unanimous decision against Vanessa Demopoulos, McKenna was awarded a

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

contract. The deal saw her became the first Welsh female and youngest ever British fighter to sign for the promotion.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McKenna made her promotional debut against Kay Hansen on November 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. She won the fight via unanimous decision. In her sophomore performance, she faced

Elise Reed Elise Reed (born December 5, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Reed started martial arts at six years old by competing in Taekwondo, then moving ...

on March 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall. She lost the fight via split decision. McKenna faced

Miranda Granger Miranda Layne Granger (born April 13, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the strawweight division. A professional since 2017, she most notably competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background The daughter of Gord ...

on August 6, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 40. She won the fight via a shoulder choke in round two. McKenna faced

Cheyanne Vlismas Cheyanne Nicolae Vlismas (born June 25, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Vlismas began training in karate when she was three years old and then ...

on December 17, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 216 ''UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 216, UFC on ESPN+ 74'' and ''UFC Vegas 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 17, 2022, at the ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision.

Personal life

McKenna is a keen painter and often shares her artwork on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Submission (Von Flue choke) , UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Kay Hansen , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

Vanessa Demopoulos Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos (born September 22, 1988) is an American female mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Cleveland, Ohio, her parents and paternal grand ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Dana White's Contender Series 28 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Giulia Chinello , TKO (punches) , Cage Warriors 105 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Fannie Redman , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Cage Warriors 104 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:06 ,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Micol Di Segni , Decision (split) , Cage Warriors 97 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Wales , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Eva Dourthe , Decision (split) , Cage Warriors 94 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Maria Vittoria Colonna , TKO (corner stoppage) , Cage Warriors 91 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , Newport, Wales , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Cory 1999 births Sportspeople from Cwmbran Living people Welsh female mixed martial artists Strawweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Liverpool Welsh Muay Thai practitioners Female Muay Thai practitioners British female karateka Welsh practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters