A popular 29-year-old is refusing to go Hollywood despite being a former champion in the MMA firm which helped make Conor McGregor a star
- Molly McCann has been called a trailblazer for women looking to get into professional fighting.
- But though she's a former champion in Cage Warriors, the organization which helped create Conor McGregor's star, and is now the first Englishwoman to win in the UFC, McCann is loathe to come across as Hollywood. Instead, she stays humble.
- Speaking to Business Insider with her mother present, McCann spoke about her goal to be crowned UFC champion.
- McCann fights next at the UFC Fight Night 171 show at the 02 Arena in London on March 21.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
LONDON - A popular 29-year-old is quietly refusing to go Hollywood despite being a former champion in the British MMA firm which helped make Conor McGregor a star, before fighting in front of Wayne Rooney at a UFC event in March.
"[Rooney] wants to come to UFC London, I've been told he's asked for tickets," Molly McCann told Business Insider this week. "That'll be quite cool, won't it? He spoke to the UFC … they said they'd give him them."
McCann is an athlete who could have probably excelled in many sports having played football before she was a teenager, signing a contract with Liverpool, before taking up boxing.
McCann liked the combative element of the stand-up martial art, but disliked the lack of opportunity. She then found MMA, a sport which has been her home for almost five years now.
Like a number of British and Irish fighters, she made her name in Cage Warriors, winning the company's championship in her eighth professional bout - a knockout win in 2018.
From there, like McGregor, she left Cage Warriors to join the UFC. But in her first UFC bout, she lost, rebounding in March, 2019, to become the first Englishwoman to win in the organization.
Despite the accolades, her three-fight winning run, and her return to the Octagon on March 21 when she takes on Ashlee Evans-Smith in a flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night 171: London, McCann remains grounded.
She spoke to Business Insider with her mother present, said she walks her dog to chill out, and listens to vinyl as a form of escapism. She told us that her apparent status as a trailblazer for British women in professional face-punching is "a narrative people [in the media] like to go with because I'm present. I'm now.
"I know I'm at the forefront but I don't think about it. It's not the top of the ladder. I'm not there yet. When I'm retired, maybe I might think I made a difference for people to have a go. My goal is to win a world title. I've done that, but not in this organization."
Victory over Evans-Smith would help her achieve that goal, improving her flyweight ranking.
She has a natural audience, is a popular Liverpudlian, and, as she says, "I've got style, personality, and being the first English woman to win in the UFC has put me in good stead."
McCann's not the only Liverpudlian fighter making a name in the UFC, as Muay Thai specialist Darren Till is also a good middleweight competitor.
Considering the rise of northern fighters, and the appeal of stadium fights in Britain, is that something McCann envisages? No, is the short answer. "I'd be just as happy fighting in a car park [than a stadium]," she said.
"I'd fight anywhere, it doesn't matter."
But first, she fights in March.
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