Issue 168
June 2018
Searching for star power at 125lb? Look no further.
Few fighters have real star power – the ability to sell a fight, cultivate a fanbase and actually be able to beat someone up. The UFC could use someone with that rare quality for its brand new weight class and Molly McCann fits the bill, perfectly.
The Cage Warriors champion is already a headline attraction.
She can sell out a venue – and not just any small hall, either. There were 8,000 people in Liverpool’s Echo Arena to see her strike gold at CWFC 90, and just about every person there was in her corner. Now she’s ready to do even greater things.
“If Cage Warriors wanted, they could give me another fight in September,” she says. “But when I was asked where I’d like to see my career go, two fights ago, I said I deserved a title shot in front of my people and then I’m ready for the UFC. I’m 7-1 so I’m ready for the big leagues. I know I am. I made my last opponent look like she’d never done MMA before.”
That’s the key. As well as being popular, ‘Meatball’ can fight. She’s relentless – constant forward pressure, punches, knees and elbows. “A little bit like Joanna Jedrzejczyk, but I kick a little less,” she says. Although she took care of Bryony Tyrell little more than a minute and a half to claim her title, she beat two experienced opponents in her previous two fights by outworking them for three rounds.
“I’m going in to fight, I’m going to leave my life in there if I have to and my will to win will always be more than the other person’s,” she adds. “Technically, they may be better, but my mental warfare and the way I can beat everyone up can’t be matched. If you look at my finishes, they’re all the same, my opponents give up and I get the TKO because they don’t want to know anymore.”
If the UFC wants to bring McCann into the Octagon fold, it would make sense to do it at its own show at the Echo, set for late May 27th. Not only would the atmosphere be every bit as electric for her fight as it would be for Darren Till’s Main event with Stephen Thompson, she’d generate interest like no other fighter with her magnetic personality.
“My coach says the UFC only have to put a microphone in front of me and they’ll be eating out the palm of your hand,” the 27-year-old adds. “Everyone’s always said it.”
Refreshingly, her gift of the gab is put to use by selling herself, not to put anyone down – rivals or otherwise. The exception to the rule is if anyone tries to speak ill of her. “If anyone tries to put me down, R.I.P. because I’ll be no-holds- barred. As a role model, I’m morally correct, but if someone wants to talk bad about me or my looks or anything – you’re going to get annihilated.”
So, she’s got the skills, she’s got the fanbase and she’s got the ability to draw even more attention to her and whichever promotion she fights for. Three big ticks in the boxes required to step up into the world’s biggest and best MMA organization.
Even if it’s not in her hometown, the time is right to have her on any card. Flyweight needs as many new faces as it can get. Its champion only has four pro wins on her record, and many of the ‘official’ UFC top 15 have similarly limited experience. It’s not unlikely that McCann could jump straight in and find a home right among the top contenders.
“I’m not going to talk the division down and say I’m better than half of them, but on my day, I can beat any person in there,” she says. “I know that for a fact. Graeme Boylan [Cage Warriors president] said it would be quite hard to match me with anyone else because I’ve got a record that challenges 80% of the division in the UFC.
“I’m waiting for the call to be put on a UFC card. I’m not sitting around for six months until the next [Cage Warriors] Echo show. My feet are still on the ground, humble as ever, but I’m ready for the big time.”
Photography by Cage Warriors/Dolly Crew
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