Molly McCann stepped out in front of her home fans and delivered a performance to remember as she scored a highlight-reel knockout for the ages at UFC London.
McCann set a blistering pace in Round 1 as she hammered Carolina with barrage after barrage of striking combinations. However, despite “Meatball’s” remarkable output, Carolina somehow survived the onslaught.
Round 2 saw McCann work more in the clinch, and even scored with a big slam takedown. But the Liverpudlian had to be wary as Carolina attempted to isolate her arm in search of a submission.
With the pace understandably slower, Carolina scored with strikes of her own, before McCann hit a spectacular suplex to put an exclamation point on the round.
Perhaps knowing she needed a finish in the third round, Carolina started the final frame calling McCann forward and trying to pick her off. The Brazilian used her Muay Thai plum to good effect to slow the charge of the Scouser as she tied up the action against the fence.
But McCann simply would not be denied, and connected with eye-catching shots after the pair separated and returned to the centre of the octagon.
Then came the moment that took the roof off the O2 Arena. On the 1:52 mark of the final round, a colossal spinning back elbow from McCann knocked Carolina out cold, sparking wild scenes as McCann charged around the arena floor before returning to the octagon holding a UFC championship belt.
It was a spectacular finish to the biggest win in Molly McCann’s career, as she claimed the 12th win of her career, and her first-ever UFC knockout.
UFC London: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Tom Aspinall def. Alexander Volkov via submission (straight armbar) – Round 1, 3:44
- Arnold Allen def. Dan Hooker via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:33
- Paddy Pimblett def. Kazula Vargas via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:49
- Gunnar Nelson def. Takashi Sato via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Molly McCann vs. Luana Carolina via knockout (spinning back elbow) – Round 3, 1:52
- Ilia Topuria def. Jai Herbert via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:07
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Makwan Amirkhani def. Mike Grundy via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 0:57
- Sergei Pavlovich def. Shamil Abdurakhimov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:03
- Paul Craig def. Nikita Krylov via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:57
- Jack Shore def. Timur Valiev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Elise Reed def. Cory McKenna via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Muhammad Mokaev def. Cody Durden via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:58
