Molly McCann: Wants to Make a Statement in Boston

Molly McCann: Wants to Make a Statement in Boston

“You have dug your soul out of the dark, you have fought to be here.”

If ever a quote could be permanently attached to Molly McCann it’s this one. It’s no secret how her defeat to Gillian Robertson last May in Liverpool on her UFC debut affected her.

That loss in front of her hometown fans left her devastated and questioning if she belonged in the UFC. But eventually she did what she needed to do to prove to her doubters and more importantly to herself that she did indeed belong in the premier Mixed Martial Arts organisation.

100+ plus hours on the mats to evolve her ground game helped build her shattered confidence, and she returned at UFC London, just 10 months after her defeat to Robertson.

Entering her fight with Priscila Cachoeira she did so knowing another defeat could spell the end of her UFC dream. That fight was about survival, I commented at the time, after even a broken eye orbital couldn’t deny her:

‘It was a bit of the old Molly, it wasn’t perfect but it was enough,’ but perfect or not she was up and running.

McCann went to Greenville in June, and fought the most technically perfect fight of her career. A heavy underdog against Ariane Lipski, but she made those odds irrelevant as she completely dominated Lipski.

If London was about survival, Greenville was about removing any lingering doubt that she belonged.

Diana Belbita is next up for McCann this weekend in Boston and the aims and expectations are completely different to her previous two fights in the UFC.

McCann (9-2) wants to make a statement, she wants her first stoppage victory in the UFC and send out a message that she is a true contender in the flyweight division.

Belbita (11-4) must not be overlooked, and despite being the betting favourite McCann knows anything can happen in MMA, the focus must remain the same.

But McCann hasn’t lost sight of where she was not so long ago, and knows full well how things can quickly change. There is no false bravado or arrogance, and despite talk of wanting to challenge Valentina Shevchenko, she knows she isn’t ready yet.

Friday night will tell us plenty about both fighters. Belbita is in the very same position McCann was in last year, wanting to prove her worth, but the odds are that she will have to wait a little longer for her maiden UFC victory.

McCann is on a roll, and Belbita looks like she is facing her at the wrong time. Belbita will be facing a fighter in McCann that is light years away from the version we saw last May.

McCann is looking to make a statement and is desperate to get that stoppage, and I believe her desire will be granted.