Molly McCann (born 4 May 1990) is an English

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 ...

. She is a former Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the women's

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division of 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 ...

(UFC).

Early life

McCann was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 4 May 1990. Her father was absent and mother had substance abuse problems, so she was partially raised by her aunt. She grew up in Liverpool's

Norris Green Norris Green is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, in the east of the city. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 17,784, which had fallen to 15,047 at the 2011 Census. History Historically a part of Lancashire, Norris Green's develop ...

area with two sisters. Initially, she trained in karate, kickboxing, and Thai boxing before starting boxing around the age of 12. She then played football for five years before starting MMA training in 2013. Despite a life-long affinity with Everton, McCann played for

, until an ankle ligament injury brought about her football retirement. Upon signing 16-year-old McCann in 2006, Liverpool manager Keith "Cliffy" Cliffe described her as a promising midfielder who liked to push forward. She graduated from

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

with a degree in sports development and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

McCann fought most of her early MMA career in Liverpool. In her early years as a fighter, she supported herself by working at Subway, which earned her the nickname "Meatball Molly". 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. After competing on the regional circuit, she amassed a record of 7–1 before signing with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McCann made her UFC debut on 27 May 2018, against

Gillian Robertson Gillian Elizabeth Robertson (born May 17, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Robertson was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Can ...

at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till. 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. She lost the fight via a rear-naked choke in round two. Her second fight came on 15 March 2019, facing

Priscila Cachoeira Priscila Cachoeira Gomes Da Silva (born 19 August 1988) is a Brazilian female mixed martial arts fighter. She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personal life Cachoeira had a troubled childhood gr ...

at UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal. She won the fight via unanimous decision. McCann faced

Ariane Lipski Ariane Lipski (born January 26, 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. She is a former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lipski was bor ...

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

Diana Belbiţă Diana Irena Belbiţă (born June 26, 1996) is a Romanian mixed martial artist, and former kickboxing, judo and kempo practitioner. She competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Belbiţă is a former world and ...

on 18 October 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 6 ''UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 18, 2019 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A light ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision. McCann was scheduled to face

Ashlee Evans-Smith Ashlee Nicole Evans-Smith (born July 9, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's women's flyweight and bantamweight divisions. She has her own podcast called Sex & Violence with Rebel Girl. Mix ...

on 21 March 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the event was eventually postponed. Instead, McCann faced

Taila Santos Taila Santos (born June 22, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of June 13, 2022, she is #2 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and as of November 15, 202 ...

on 16 July 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. McCann faced

Lara Procópio Lara Fritzen Procópio de Amorim (born November 11, 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background The daughter of Brazilian jiu ...

on 6 February 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. McCann faced

Ji Yeon Kim Kim Ji-yeon ( ko, 김지연; born October 18, 1992), often anglicized Ji Yeon Kim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Jewels and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion. She competes in the Women's Flyweight division of ...

on 4 September 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 191 ''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 4, 2021 at the ...

. She won the fight via unanimous decision. The back-and-forth bout won both contestants the '' Fight of the Night'' bonus award. McCann faced Luana Carolina on 19 March 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 204 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 204'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 62'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 19, 2022 at The O2 Arena in Lo ...

. She won the fight via knockout after landing a "Hellbow" - or spinning back elbow - in round three. With this win, she received the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. McCann faced

Hannah Goldy Hannah Eliza Goldschmidt (born May 18, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Goldy grew up in Vermont snowboarding, running track, and competing in cros ...

on 23 July 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 208 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 208'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 23, 2022, at The O2 Arena in Lon ...

. She won the fight via technical knockout. This win earned her the ''

'' award. As the first bout of her new eight-fight contract, McCann faced

Erin Blanchfield Erin Blanchfield (born May 4, 1999) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is a former Eddie Bravo Invitational champion. As of August 29, 2023, she is #2 ...

on 12 November 2022 at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. She lost the fight via a kimura submission in the first round. During the fight, McCann only landed 7 strikes in contrast to the 93 strikes landed by Blanchfield.

Personal life

McCann struggled with her sexuality in her youth. She came out publicly as lesbian at 25 after stating, "I absolutely ran from it until the wheels fell off, until I couldn't run no more." McCann is a close friend of fellow Liverpudlian mixed martial artist

Paddy Pimblett Patrick Pimblett (born 3 January 1995) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Pimblett is a former Cage Warrio ...

and a supporter of Everton and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

. She describes herself as a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

supporter. She is an opponent of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, due to her opinion that they had a negative effect on Liverpool and the working class in general, and on 23 July 2022, she led the crowd at the O2 Arena in a chant of "fuck the tories". McCann and Irish boxer

Katie Taylor Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...

are cousins. Three of her grandparents are from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) **

(Two times) *

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 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 ...

**Cage Warriors Fighting Championship Women's Flyweight Champion (One time) *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2022 March Knockout of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 ,

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (spinning back elbow and punches) , UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 ,

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, 12–4 , Luana Carolina , KO (spinning back elbow) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:52 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till , , 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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 ,

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

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Boston, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. The Korean Zombie , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 ,

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

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:05 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Bryony Tyrell , TKO (punches) , Cage Warriors 90 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:32 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Priscila de Souza , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 88 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Lacey Schuckman , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 82 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Anjela Pink , TKO (knees to the body and punches) , Shinobi War 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Macicilia Benkhettache , TKO (punches) , Shock N' Awe 23 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Valérie Domergue , Decision (split) , Shock N' Awe 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 ,

Vanessa Melo Vanessa De Melo Silva (born March 27, 1988) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). She is most known for her time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

, Decision (unanimous) , XFC International 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Katy Horlick , TKO (punches) , Shock N' Awe 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

, England , , -

Books

*Molly Meatball McCann ''- Be True To You: A story about coming out'', Self-published (30 June 2021),

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Molly 1990 births Living people Barstool Sports people English female mixed martial artists English people of Irish descent Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Liverpool LGBT mixed martial artists English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters People from Norris Green English LGBT sportspeople FA Women's National League players Liverpool F.C. Women players English women's footballers Women's association footballers not categorized by position