Molly McCann is all set to make her debut as a UFC strawweight at UFC Vegas 85, but her first dance partner at 115 pounds is a familiar face, and someone she thinks will help bring out the best in both of them.
McCann takes on Diana Belbita on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in a re-run of Belbita’s Octagon debut back in October 2019. Since then, McCann has experienced a rollercoaster ride that has veered from disappointing losses to emphatic knockout victories.
After her submission loss to Julija Stoliarenko in London last July, and perhaps tired of constantly being outsized in her UFC matchups, McCann took the decision to drop down to strawweight, and will make her 115-pound debut this weekend.
“I’m doing this because I believe the difference was I was being outsized,” she explained during her media day session at the UFC Apex.
“When I’ve been finished in those jiu-jitsu situations it was always to a black belt who had cut a lot of weight. And you would have seen against Julija (Stoliarenko) – she’s a friend of mine now, actually! – she’s still cutting 14, 16 pounds in fight week, do you know what I mean?
“I was like, ‘I cut two pounds for you, Julija!’ and we laugh about it now. But yeah, it’s the right decision, I believe.”
McCann has taken a scientific approach to dropping down a division and has made sure that she has monitored her levels throughout the process to ensure that when she steps into the Octagon on fight night, he’s at her physical peak.
“We know what my optimum weight is, so when we’ve done this fight camp and we’ve recorded the fight rounds and we’ve watched the output and when I can dip into the red zone and how fast the recovery is, I know that when I reload after eating on Friday I’ll probably be hitting the numbers – maybe 125, between 125 and 150. That is my optimum level. That’s what I will be on fight weeks normally, when I’d see you normally.
“So they were my best rounds. The lower the weight’s got, the faster I’ve been, and with mine and Paddy’s nutritionist, he has a special way of melting fat off people but keeping the numbers correct and keeping the weight, making it safely and correct. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a fighter drop a weight (class) and have 200 grammes of carbs the day before they’re making weight, so really, honestly, I’ve put the weight in and I can’t wait to show you all on Saturday.”
That chance will come against familiar opposition. McCann defeated Belbita via unanimous decision in Boston in their first meeting, but the Liverpudlian said fans should expect both women to be significantly better in the return bout, which she is clearly excited to jump into with typical gusto.
“Well, with me, everyone I’ve ever been given, I’ve took (the fight),” she said.
“Even when, stylistically, I knew it was going to be the toughest night of my life! When I was offered this, I said to my manager, Graham, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yes, Princess.’ I went, ‘Yes, boss. I’m in.’
“She’s like me, so we want to fight. And by fight, I just mean probably she’ll stand and bang a little bit longer than the other one’s going to try and take the other one down for.
“So it excites me to know that we can have trade-offs. It excites me to know that it’s hard for her to be put away. So, if I put her away, it shows that I am the calibre that I believe I am.
“And when we did fight, it was her debut, and I had really bad food poisoning that day. I remember the second I got out of the cage I was sick on Megan Olivi’s shoe!
“I wasn’t the best me that night, (Diana) wasn’t the best her. We’ve both gone away, gave our life to this craft. I feel like me, her, and Gillian Robertson are all quite similar. We love this game, and we learn on the job and we learn in front of everyone else – and we just want to fight.
“I’m getting a solid dance partner in that and, yeah, I don’t even know what she’s saying about me, but I’m sure it’s not too bad!
“I think the respect is there for the both of us. You see that sometimes, when two athletes really respect each other, you get the best out of each other in the Octagon. So, let’s go, girl!”
