UFC star Molly McCann was forced to tap out against debutant Alexia Thainara in the first round of their clash in London on Saturday, prompting her to announce her retirement from the sport
Molly McCann has announced her retirement from UFC after losing to debutant Alexia Thainara in the first round. McCann, 34, tapped out during their clash at the O2 Arena in London, suffering her fourth defeat in five fights.
The trailblazing Brit, who hails from Liverpool, had opted for a change in weight class last year, moving down to strawweight. On her debut at 115lbs, McCann impressively beat Diana Belbita.
But ‘Meatball’ lost to Bruna Brasil in convincing fashion at UFC 304 last July, breaking her leg during the fight. Despite saying that the best was yet to come ahead of her final outing, Saturday’s defeat to Brazilian star Thainara, who was making her promotional debut, has prompted her to call it quits.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the loss, McCann said: “UFC and Dana [White], I started this sport at 24 and I have given you all my heart and soul. Tonight, with that performance on a week’s notice, it’s not good enough. The UFC deserves more.
“From a little girl from Norris Green fighting in arenas, look at me, look at what I’ve managed to do. Dana, if you ever need an ambassador to fly around Europe, I can chat anyone up.”
She finished her interview by saying: “Up the f****** Toffees,” in reference to being an Everton fan.
McCann, the first Englishwoman to win in the UFC, kissed her gloves and left them in the middle of the octagon in a symbolic gesture. Thainara had taken on the fight with just a few days’ notice and pulled off a huge victory.
But down-to-Earth McCann’s legacy is secure, becoming a trailblazer over the last seven years and using her platform to make an impact outside of the cage. “I won’t be remembered for the elbows or, ‘I just want a bevvy, lad,” she recently told UFC.com.
“It’ll be for how I handled the losses and came back and won again because I don’t think there’s many people who could take the stick online, the mental (space) of where you go when you lose, and the grief, the grieving process and still turn up with a smile on your face trying to make the best out of the situation and enjoy what they got.”
McCann had contemplated retirement after she suffered a fractured leg against Brasil, revealing how difficult of a setback the injury was. “I was probably at my lowest,” McCann told Sky Sports.
“I took it really hard because I had trained so much, I didn’t cut corners and even when you give everything you don’t deserve to win and that was the bitter pill I had to swallow. I was beat up, my body was in bits, I was just grieving but I wouldn’t be doing this if I had one ounce of doubt that I shouldn’t be.”