Molly McCann will make her professional boxing debut this weekend as she returns to centre stage on the undercard of the all-Irish world title fight between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan, live on DAZN.

Only six months ago, McCann, who has become affectionately known as ‘Meatball Molly’, announced her UFC retirement after losing in front of her home fans at the O2 Arena.

Now, she is back in a new sport and aiming to make her mark in the world of boxing.

But how far can she go? Let’s take a look at her career prospects ahead of her boxing bow on Saturday night.

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How did McCann’s time in the UFC end?

After winning the inaugural Cage Warriors women’s flyweight title in 2018, McCann moved over to the UFC later that year, only to lose on her debut via submission.

She responded by winning three straight fights on points, but then lost two decisions on the trot to leave her career in limbo.

McCann proved her ability to pull off the unthinkable when she won two consecutive fights in 2022 after landing spinning back elbows.

But that was as good as it got for her in the Octagon as she lost four of her last five fights.

McCann’s grappling game was her undoing as she was submitted in three of those four defeats and that explains why she has now turned to boxing to purely focus on her striking.

Has McCann got any previous boxing experience?

McCann won an amateur national title before she opted to switch to MMA in 2013.

This indicates her pedigree in the sport and how she will not be starting from scratch.

However, she did spend over a decade focusing on MMA as she compiled a 14-8 professional record.

Moving back to boxing at this stage of her career will not be easy and there is a big difference between the amateur and professional ranks.

McCann will get her first taste of the latter this weekend and will hope to adapt quickly.

How far does McCann believe she can go?

McCann has not hidden the fact that she wants to right to the top of boxing.

Several UFC fighters have left MMA behind to move into Misfits Boxing in recent times, including Darren Till, Luke Rockhold and Tony Ferguson.

McCann opted to go down a different route and believes she can win a world title in the ring.

She told DAZN Boxing: “I feel like anyone who fights, fights for one reason if it’s in something like this, and that’s to be the best in the world. It’s why I left the UFC because I knew I wasn’t going to be.

“If you’re not fighting for world honours then why are you fighting? I’m delusional enough to think I can make it and it’s now just about putting that into reality and making sure that I can.”

Has McCann left it too late?

McCann turned 35 in May and does not have time on her side to make an impact in boxing.

If she is going to reach the pinnacle of the sport she will have to make rapid progress.

However, there are some formidable female champions who are older than McCann, offering the Everton super-fan hope that achieving her dream is possible.

Irish icon Katie Taylor is now 39 but is still the queen of the super lightweight division after beating Amanda Serrano in their trilogy bout in July.

Serrano herself is 36 and competing at the highest level. Meanwhile, super middleweight champions Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Shadasia Green are 38 and 36, respectively.

McCann has left it late, but a confidence-boosting win on Saturday could be the start of a special journey that leads to her winning a world title.

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This article is republished from
www.independent.co.uk
on 2025-09-12 05:00:00.
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