Liverpool-born UFC fighter Molly McCann has vowed to bounce back after suffering a first-round defeat in her professional UFC fight at UFC 281 against New Jersey’s Erin Blanchfield.
McCann (aka Meatball McCann) faced her toughest opponent yet inside the Octagon, and she hopes to learn from the defeat and put it behind her. Before the fight, she was the bookies’ odds-on favourite to win outright, and many people also believed that she would win. Can she recover from her loss? Find out here.
Who is Molly McCann?
Molly McCann is a 32-year-old English Mixed Martial Artist who was born in Liverpool, England, in May 1990. The former Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion made her debut in May 2018 against Gillian Robertson at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Till. She joined the flyweight division of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) more recently, and to date, she has had 18 MMA fights. A total of 13 were won by knockout, 7 of which were by decision. She has lost 5 by submission and 2 by decision.
McCann has a 157 cm reach (62 inches). She recently weighed in at exactly 9 stone (126 lb, or 57kg), and she stands at 163 cm tall (5 ft 4 in). She holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and before joining the UFC, she fought most of her early career, which began in 2015, in Liverpool.
Who is Erin Blanchfield?
Erin Blanchfield is a 23-year-old MMA fighter who also competes in the Flyweight division of the UFC. Nicknamed Cold Blooded, Blanchfield was born in May 1994 in New Jersey, America. She’s also a blackbelt in Jiu Jitsu, and to date, she has had 11 fights, winning 10, 2 of which were by knockout, 3 by submission, and 5 by decision. The fight that she lost was by decision.
Blanchfield stands at 163 cm (5 ft 4 in), and she recently weighed in at 8 stone 13 lb (125lb, or 57 kg). She made her UFC debut in April 2021 at UFC on ABC: Vettori vs Holland after being called at short notice to be a replacement for Bea Malecki against Norma Dumont.
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What happened in the McCann-Blanchfield fight at Madison Square Garden?
Less than one minute after the fight began, Blanchfield was able to lift McCann off the ground and take her down to the floor, at which point she used her amazing grappling skills that Meatball was simply unable to escape from. She was trapped in a crucifix position on her back, and Blanchfield was in full control from that point forward, delivering punches and elbows to the head and almost breaking McCann’s shoulder/upper arm at one point before McCann tapped out.
She was defenseless for the majority of the round and couldn’t manoeuver herself into a position where she could inflict any real damage on Blanchfield. One arm was trapped between Blanchfield’s two legs, and her face was always fully exposed to each blow that rained down. The fight eventually stopped with just 1:23 left on the clock.
Can McCann bounce back?
It marked the end of McCann’s three-fight winning streak, and she has already said that it has made her more determined to come back stronger than ever. She was clearly devastated by the loss and will be looking to reclaim her place in the upper UFC flyweight rankings in the shortest time possible.