On Reflection: McCann vs Belbita

On Reflection: McCann vs Belbita

Watching a fight live and then viewing the fight again you often get a completely different perspective on the fight.

After watching Molly McCann vs Diana Belbita for the second time, my opinions have changed, albeit not significantly.

Seeing the fight live my concerns were that in the 1st round McCann was too intent on going for the stoppage that she openly admitted she was looking for, and with her putting so much into her punches I thought there was a real danger she would pay a heavy price for it later in the fight.

I still think McCann was winging in the shots, trying to force it, rather than look for the openings, but I thought she was in greater control than I initially thought.

Belbita was slightly up on the numbers, and it was a very even fight for about 4 minutes, until McCann secured a late takedown to remove any doubt as to who had won the round. The round was very similar to the opening round of McCann’s last fight with Ariane Lipski.

It’s worth noting the improving fight IQ of McCann, knowing how important a takedown would be, especially at that late stage in the round, something she did so well against Lipski.

After her defeat to Gillian Robertson, McCann spent 100+ plus hours developing and evolving her grappling skills, and all 3 fights since, have shown her time hasn’t been wasted.

We saw in the 2nd round that while there is still work to be done, she was levels about her opponent when the fight hit the floor. I thought McCann was on the verge of stopping Belbita, and fights have been stopped for a lot less, and she certainly emptied the gas tank a little trying to secure her first UFC stoppage. But to her credit Belbita dug in and bravely stayed in the fight, when many would have been stopped right there and then.

When watching the fight live I was again concerned that despite being up on the scorecards, there could be a dramatic twist, as McCann looked exhausted at the conclusion of the round.

But McCann has some engine on her, and I thought despite feeling the effects of her efforts and also feeling unwell, McCann recovered physically in-between rounds and she fought a very smart technical round in the 3rd, taking no silly chances and risking undoing her previous good work.

That is the version of McCann which I prefer and one I believe will give her greater success going forward. As she showed against Lipski, when she wants to, she has the skills to fight an extremely technical fight, settling down and taking the weight off her shots, using angles to get in and out and avoiding what comes back in her direction.

Despite a few mistakes and she isn’t the finished article yet, I thought overall we saw further improvement from McCann and despite not getting the finish she craved, I think she can be extremely pleased with her performance. It was a good learning fight and she will know full well that if she wants to get herself into the title picture the improvement will need to continue.

We have to remember where McCann was a year ago, and to rebound in 2019 with 3 consecutive wins is a testament to her resolve and desire, few would have worked harder over the last 12 months or so.

There’s a long way to go, something which McCann is perfectly aware of. The Liverpool fighter is about as level-headed as you can get, growing as a person as well as a fighter since last May.

McCann isn’t just happy playing a supporting role, and she isn’t the type of fighter who is just happy to be in the UFC, she wants more.

Some people may laugh when McCann talks about fighting Valentina Shevchenko, but those same people would have laughed if you had told them that McCann would now be riding a 3 fight win streak.

McCann has been proving people wrong her entire life, something tells me she isn’t finished yet.