Molly McCann – “the world ridiculed me like I was the scum of the earth”
“Meatball” Molly McCann returns to the octagon this weekend at UFC Vegas 85 when she meets Diana Belbiţă in a strawweight scrap.
In her last two UFC outings McCann, 33, was submitted in the first-round by both Erin Blanchfield and Julija Stoliarenko.
Following the most recent loss at UFC London, McCann questioned if she should continue in the sport.
“You can’t co-main in your home country and be embarrassed in that way and think ‘I’m the best in the world’ because I wasn’t,” McCann told BBC Sport.
“What we do is so time consuming, mentally draining, the fans have so much of a say on your life. I was like ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this one’, because the world ridiculed me like I was the scum of the earth to every man and his dog.”
McCann, who now boasts a pro MMA record of 13-6, will drop a weight class for Saturday’s fight.
“I’ve got a new sense of calm, reserve and contentment at this weight. I’m at peace with it,” said McCann.
“It’s a harsh reality I’ve spent my whole career at the wrong weight, but maybe my skillset wasn’t ready for this weight class until now.
“I’m in the shape of my life, and if you can’t beat them you’ve got to join them. I can’t beat the bigger girls so I’ve got to use their tact.
“And we’ve done it correctly. I’m not killing myself to make the weight because I’ve been so disciplined. We’ve dropped a weight category but I’m still hitting the same numbers on my lifting as I was at 125lb. It’s a bit of a rebirth.”
