English fan-favourite Molly McCann dropped down to strawweight and bounced back into the win column with an impressive performance against familiar foe Diana Belbita.
McCann, who had previously competed exclusively at flyweight during her UFC career, dominated the striking early on against Belbita, briefly stunning the Canada-based Romanian with a big right hand in the opening seconds of the fight.
But, as the fight settled into a rhythm, McCann didn’t rest on her striking laurels. She mixed in a couple of well-timed takedowns, and happily closed the distance and looked to work from the clinch. She even managed to unleash her signature spinning back elbow as the pair disengaged against the fence.
But, despite bossing the stand-up battle, McCann had a trick up her sleeve and, after taking Belbita to the mat and punishing her with elbows and punches from mount, she moved to an armbar and appeared to hyperextend her opponent’s elbow as she forced the tap in the last second of the opening round.
McCann had cut a much calmer, more reserved figure during fight week in Las Vegas, and ahead of the fight spoke of how she’d been affected by the backlash following her back-to-back submission losses in 2023.
Her hope was that a drop to 115 pounds – where she wouldn’t be outsized by her rivals – and a calmer approach would pay dividends on fight night.
“I’d really just like to take this time to apologise to the UFC, to my fans, and to myself for not being at the right weight for all of my fight, for my last two performances,” she told Daniel Cormier after claiming her victory.
“But today, I forgive myself, and we can move forward.”
And she explained her new mindset with a maxim she stuck to throughout fight week.
“Say less, do more,” she told Cormier.
“The plan was to be a world champion. That didn’t work out at 125 (pounds). You know, DC. When the plan doesn’t work, you don’t change the goal, you change the plan. Adversity, I pushed through. And my coach Paul (Rimmer) promised me this would happen, and I’ve listened, so…”
And, despite the resounding nature of her victory – her second over Belbita in the UFC – McCann stopped short of calling out names, and instead said she just wanted to spend time with those closest to her as she kicked off the latest chapter of her career with a big win.
“Take every day as it comes. Go and spend time with the family and my gym – they’ve put some f*****g work into me. I’m gonna go and have a Guinness and a beer, and I’ll see you soon.”
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
UFC Vegas 85: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Nassourdine Imavov def. Roman Dolidze via majority decision (49-44, 47-47, 48-46)
- Renato Moicano def. Drew Dober via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Randy Brown def. Muslim Salikhov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:17
- Natalia Silva def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Aliaskhab Khizriev vs. Makhmud Muradov ruled a no decision (accidental eye poke) – Round 1, 0:11
- Charles Radke def. Gilbert Urbina via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:47
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Molly McCann def. Diana Belbita via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:59
- Charles Johnson def. Azat Maksum via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Themba Gorimbo def. Pete Rodriguez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:32
- Lee Jeong-Yeong def. Blake Bilder via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Luana Carolina def. Julija Stoliarenko via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 3, 4:52
- MarQuel Mederos def. Landon Quinones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jamal Pogues def. Thomas Petersen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
