Sara McMann (born September 24, 1980) is an American female

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, incorpo ...

who competed in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division. McMann is a former

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

and received a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and was a

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Silver Medalist and 2-time Bronze Medalist. She would then transition to MMA, most notably competing in 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).

Wrestling

McMann started wrestling at the age of 14 in

Marion, North Carolina Marion is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1844, the city was named in honor of Brigadier General Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War Hero whose talent in guerrilla warfare ...

McDowell High School McDowell High School is a public high school located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Erie. It is the only high school in the Millcreek Township School District. The school's mascot is the Trojan. Students There are approximat ...

. She is the first American woman in history to receive a

in Olympic

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

, which she won at the

. McMann won silver medal in the 2003 world championships and a bronze medal in the 2005 and 2007 world championships n the Women's Freestyle 63 kg or 138.75 lb

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Alte ...

. In 2022, McMann was inducted to the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

as a Distinguished Member.

Mixed martial arts career

McMann announced in late 2010 that she had signed a three-fight contract with Strikeforce. She planned to fight at 135 pounds. However, she did not sign on with the promotion due to an extension clause in the contract. McMann was first scheduled to make her professional mixed martial arts debut on November 14, 2010 in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

, but the event was cancelled due to safety problems with the cage. She then had more fights fall apart after opponents backed out, including a scheduled April 30, 2011 fight against Mariah Johnson. On May 28, 2011, McMann made her pro MMA debut at Universal Cage Combat: Revolution. She defeated Christina Marks by submission in the first round. McMann faced fellow Olympian Julie Malenfant at Blackeye Promotions 4 on June 17, 2011. McMann defeated Malenfant by TKO early in the first round. McMann faced Tonya Evinger at Titan Fighting Championships 19 on July 29, 2011. The fight served as the co-main event. McMann defeated Evinger by unanimous decision.

ProElite

After ProElite reincarnated under new management, McMann faced Raquel Pa'aluhi on the promotion's first event post-EliteXC at ProElite 1: Arlovski vs. Lopez on August 27, 2011. She defeated Pa'aluhi by submission due to an americana in the third round. McMann returned to ProElite to face Hitomi Akano at

ProElite 3 ProElite, Inc. is an American entertainment and media company involved in the promotion of mixed martial arts (MMA). First incarnation Founded by boxing promoter Gary Shaw and his son Jared in 2006 in partnership with Showtime Networks Inc. (a ...

on January 21, 2012. She defeated Akano by unanimous decision.

Invicta Fighting Championships

On April 28, it was announced that McMann would face Shayna Baszler in the main event of Invicta Fighting Championships 2. The event took place on July 28, 2012. McMann defeated Baszler via unanimous decision and the bout was named fight of the night. The bout was a title eliminator, with the winner scheduled to face the winner of Alexis Davis vs. Hitomi Akano.

Strikeforce

On September 4, 2012, it was announced McMann had signed with Strikeforce. She was expected to debut at Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir against former bantamweight title challenger

Liz Carmouche Liz Carmouche (born February 19, 1984) is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently signed to Bellator MMA, where she is the current Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion. Carmouche competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

, but the event was cancelled.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In February 2013, McMann officially joined the

(UFC). It was rumored she turned down a fight with then-title holder Ronda Rousey. However, this was false information and no such fight was offered or even presented to McMann at the time.Trent Goodale She became the third female to earn a victory in the UFC by defeating Sheila Gaff at UFC 159. McMann was slated to face former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman on August 28, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

. However, McMann withdrew from the bout for, at the time, undisclosed personal reasons. In January 2015, she disclosed that the reason for withdrawing was due to her father battling aggressive

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...

. McMann faced

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship at UFC 170. She lost the fight by TKO after getting knocked down with a knee to the body. This stoppage created controversy, with many sports writers and attendants finding it premature. McMann faced promotional newcomer Lauren Murphy at UFC Fight Night 47 on August 16, 2014. McMann won the fight by split decision. McMann faced

Miesha Tate Miesha Theresa Tate ( ; born August 18, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which she is a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Tate formerly com ...

at UFC 183 on January 31, 2015. Despite a strong first round, she lost by majority decision. McMann faced Amanda Nunes on August 8, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73. She lost the fight via submission in the first round. McMann faced Jessica Eye at

UFC Fight Night 88 ''UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 88'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 29, 2016, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A bantamweight bout between top undefeated p ...

on May 29, 2016. She won the fight via unanimous decision. McMann faced Alexis Davis on December 3, 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. McMann won via submission in the second round. McMann was expected to face

at UFC Fight Night 105, on February 19, 2017. However, Carmouche was forced to pull out of the fight due to injury and will be replaced by newcomer

Gina Mazany Gina Marie Mazany (born August 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She formerly competed in King of the Cage in the Bantamweight division. Background Mazany was born in Anchor ...

. McMann won the fight via submission early in the first round. McMann was originally expected to face Ketlen Vieira at

UFC 214 ''UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on Janu ...

on July 29, 2017. However, the fight was moved to

UFC 215 ''UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background The promotion was initially planning a PPV even ...

. She lost the bout via arm-triangle choke submission in the second round. McMann faced

Marion Reneau Marion Elizabeth Reneau-Perez (born June 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Reneau began her professional mixed martia ...

on February 24, 2018 at UFC on Fox 28. After dominating the first round, McMann was knocked down and submitted by Reneau in the second round. After a year hiatus due to maternity leave, McMann was scheduled to face Nicco Montaño on July 13, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 13. However, McMann pulled out of the bout citing an injury in mid-June and was replaced by Julianna Peña. McMann faced

Lina Länsberg Lina Länsberg (born 13 March 1982) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, she is #12 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings. ...

on January 25, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 166. She won the fight via unanimous decision. McMann was scheduled to face

Aspen Ladd Aspen Kohl Ladd (born March 1, 1995) is an American professional mixed martial artist who is competing in the Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2015, Ladd started her professional mixed martial arts ...

on June 27, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, Ladd suffered a training injury, torn both her ACL and MCL and was forced to withdraw from the event. McMann was expected to face Julianna Peña on January 16, 2021 at

UFC on ABC 1 ''UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 1'' and ''UFC Fight Island 7'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 16, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island ...

before being pushed back a week later to

UFC 257 ''UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 24, 2021 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background Starting with ...

on January 24, 2021. McMann lost the fight via submission in round three. McMann was scheduled to face Ketlen Vieira on August 28, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 30 ''UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 30'' and ''UFC Vegas 35'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 28, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise ...

. However, McMann announced in mid August that a "reinjury" forced her out of the bout. McMann faced Karol Rosa on March 26, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 33 ''UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 26, 2022 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Bac ...

. She won the fight by unanimous decision. McMann was scheduled to face

on August 13, 2022, at

UFC on ESPN 41 ''UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Cruz'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 41'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 13, 2022, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, United States. Backg ...

. However, Ladd was tested positive for COVID-19 and she was forced to withdraw from the event, and they were rescheduled for

UFC Fight Night 210 ''UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 210'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 68'' and ''UFC Vegas 60'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 17, 2022, at th ...

on September 17. At the weigh-ins, Ladd weighed in at 138 pounds, two pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. As a result the bout was scrapped. The cancelled bout against Ladd was counted as her last bout of her contract and she was paid her show money, with McMann now being a free agent and exploring potential possibilities.

Personal life

McMann's parents are Paula Jean and Thomas William McMann. She has one sister, Nickolina, and had one brother, Jason. Jason, who wrestled at Quince Orchard High School in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Gai ...

, was murdered January 23, 1999 at the age of 21. McMann attended

where she was coached by Timothy Hutchins. In addition to wrestling, she participated in theatre productions. She earned a degree in Theatre at

Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU) is a public university in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The main campus consists of and the branch campus covers . It offers 69 undergraduat ...

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

, where she was a member of the school's wrestling team under the coaching of Carl Poff from 1999 to 2003. She previously attended

University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offerin ...

from 1998 to 1999, where she was coached by Doug Reese. In August 2010, McMann was awarded an MA/ EDS with a major in mental health counseling from Gardner-Webb University in

Boiling Springs, North Carolina Boiling Springs is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States and is located in the westernmost part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, located approximately 50 miles away from the city. As of the 2010 census, the town's popula ...

. McMann does volunteer work for

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...

, a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

housing ministry. She traveled to Sri Lanka with Olympic teammates to help victims of the tsunami rebuild homes for those displaced by the tidal wave. She also helps with youth clubs and speaks to upcoming girls and boys about wrestling. On September 3, 2004, while driving her

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

in Colorado on the way to

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

with her fiance, former ASU three-time NCAA All-American wrestler Steven Blackford as her passenger, the vehicle ran off the road and rolled over. He was ejected from the vehicle, and died at the scene. McMann was hospitalized with a broken arm and minor injuries, and later charged with careless driving. McMann and her former training partner Trent Goodale have a daughter, Bella, who was born in 2009. On May 30, 2018, McMann announced on social media that she and her partner Chad Bingham were expecting a child, and that she had put her career in mixed martial arts on hold. In December 2018, she announced that she had given birth to her son, Lucas.

World/Olympic matches

, - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location ! Notes , - , Win , 13-10 , align=left, Lise LeGrand-Golliot , style="font-size:88%", 2-1, 4-1 , style="font-size:88%", 2007-09-17 , style="font-size:88%",

2007 World Wrestling Championships The 2007 World Wrestling Championships were held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Concert Complex in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event took place from September 17 to September 23, 2007. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men' ...