Molly McCann may be one of the most recognizable names in the UFC's women's flyweight division, but the Liverpudlian contender is looking to make a much bigger impact in the sport than her own fighting career alone.
McCann is part of the English Mixed Martial Arts Association (EMMAA) coaching team that recently took Team England to the IMMAF World Championships in Serbia, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
McCann started out in boxing before transitioning to MMA and winning the Cage Warriors women's flyweight title before joining the UFC and becoming one of the biggest stars in their women's 125-pound division.
Despite her successes to date, McCann said that she'd have been an even more dangerous contender if she'd arrived in the UFC with the grounding that an amateur career on the IMMAF stage could potentially have given her.
"I really wish IMMAF was around when I was a 'Mini Meatball'. I would have loved it!" she admitted, in an interview with IMMAF.
"If I would have started this sport then, I wouldn't have just been hands and elbows. I would have been a few more takedowns and jiu-jitsu, because there's a style to these tournaments.
"Would I have been as good a fighter as I am now if I'd been able to do that then? I would have been an even better fighter. I would have have known more, I would have faced so many styles. I would have learned how to handle pressure, how to represent my country, and build friends and relationships with different countries."
Now a fully-established star in the UFC, McCann is giving back to the sport and helping shape the careers of the next generation of English MMA athletes as a coach with the English Mixed Martial Arts Association (EMMAA).
"I decided pre-COVID to get involved with EMMAA. I want to help transcend the sport," she explained.
"I got asked to be a coach and ever since then I've been doing the national team training and everything. Then I got asked did I want to come to the Worlds and I think there was only one answer that was coming out of my mouth!
"It's amazing that I'm involved in the sport when it will be in the Olympics one day – it's this close, this close to being there."
