Molly McCann has had a piece of hardware wrapped around her waist before, and she’d love to remember what it feels like.
To do it at the highest level in the UFC, as opposed to the belt she won for Cage Warriors in 2018, the Liverpudlian suspects she’s got a little work ahead of her – work she said she’s prepared to start next week with a home game at UFC 304.
McCann (14-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC), a former flyweight, will have her second UFC bout at strawweight against Bruna Brasil (9-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, next Saturday. Her divisional debut could not have gone much better – she tapped Diana Belbita with one second left in the opening round with a bonus-winning armbar.
McCann is about a 3-1 betting favorite, but said she knows Brasil is dangerous based on her win a year ago over McCann teammate Shauna Bannon.
“She’s dangerous. She’s got good finishes. She’s an all-’rounder. Striking is her game,” McCann recently told MMA Junkie. “I’ve trained for her like she’s the hardest opponent I’ve ever faced. She’s evasive. I like to fight Brazilians, and they like to fight me.
“A fight is a fight and it can go any which way. If the fight goes the way that we’ve prepared and planned for, and if I execute the game plan, it’s a brilliant night for Molly McCann. If Bruna Brasil shows up a little bit different, it might take a little bit more time to figure out. I prepared for three (rounds) of war, and if I can get it done within that time, happy f*cking days.”
Those “happy f*cking days” eventually will turn into title contention if McCann has her way. After back-to-back spinning back elbow bonus-winning finishes in 2022, McCann hit a skid with consecutive submission losses to Erin Blanchfield and Julija Stoliarenko.
The sting of two straight setbacks helped usher in a stay-busy grappling match at Polaris 26, and the armbar there was predictive of her February submission of Belbita.
“I stay active outside of fight camps,” McCann said. “I do jiu-jitsu competitions. I keep evolving. I can get to the top five now, but my grappling and my MMA style has to keep evolving to beat the top five girls. A fight’s a fight – I could still chin one of them; they could chin me. I could sub one of them; they could sub me.”
Now that she’s at 115 pounds, McCann has to put a proverbial target on the back of Chinese champion Zhang Weili, but the weight class is a luxury of riches when it comes to top-shelf women’s fighters.
To wit, McCann has finishes in her most recent three wins, all for post-fight bonuses, and she and Brasil both sit outside the top 15.
“The strawweight division’s brilliant. Even watching Tecia (Pennington against Tabatha Ricci) the other month – you’ve got an OG there who’s been out of the game, had a child. You’ve got an up-and-coming prospect. I love both girls. I think the decision was wrong. But you look at that and you think, ‘Oh my God, it’s fair game. Anyone who wants to bring it – you watch Gillian Robertson and Michelle Waterson – anyone who wants to bring it is bringing it.
“I love it. I love how respectful this division is. I think this division is a really respectful division. I don’t think there’s much bravado here. It’s like Murderer’s Row. Head down. I’ve only got a few hours left, a fights left, and I feel like I’m really coming into my (fighting) IQ prime.”
McCann said she’s midway through her current UFC deal. At 34, she might not be thinking about retirement yet, but likely is closer to hanging up the gloves than she is to the start of her career.
And like virtually everyone in her profession, she’s got those title aspirations still, and also aspirations for when she walks away.
“I’ve got an eight-fight deal. There’ are four fights left,” McCann said. “I’d like to get up there in them, and then the dream would to be win a world title and then just retire and have kids. My journey’s not f*cking like that, but we’ll see.”
UFC 304 (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) takes place July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.
