Bloodied, but not broken, Molly McCann went three rounds with ‘The Violence Queen’ at UFC Greenville, and came out with her hand raised.
A women’s flyweight bout was second in at UFC Greenville on Saturday. Following up a barn-burner of a card opener in Deron Winn vs. Eric Spicely, Molly McCann vs. Ariane Lipski had some big shoes to fill. They pulled it off, however, battling for three full rounds in an entertaining scrap.
McCann entered the fight as an underdog, as the UFC broadcast team reminded fans to start ‘Meatball’ vs. ‘The Violence Queen.’ If that was the case, no one gave her the memo. It was McMann moving forward early — although Lipski had a clear reach advantage when countering. McCann was going to need to find a way inside. She’d eventually opt for the hard road, eating a number of shots to the face, but still she worked her way in. She paid for that decision with some damage to the face; Lipski, meanwhile, began stalking her opponent down. A late takedown by McCann saw ‘Meatball’ gesturing to the crowd, getting them fired up — but would that steal her the round?
Did @MeatballMolly just do the @BlessedMMA finger point?!#UFCGreenville pic.twitter.com/WT7O5Yx3yK
— UFC (@ufc) June 22, 2019
Lipski was able to stay on her feet in the opening of the second, and it was McCann circling on the outside. McCann was finding some success with her stand-up game, and even managed to rock the Brazilian. Lipski’s nose was bloodied, McCann was firing kicks along with her combinations. The bulk of the round was spent on the feet, but again, McCann scored a late takedown to end the frame.
In the final frame, Lipski landed early, finding the mark with her hands. McCann appeared prepared for her body kick, however, and was firing off a left hook. With the fight still up for grabs, a strong finish was going to be key. Lipski, however, turned it up, firing kicks high, pressuring McCann, and eventually, McCann wound up badly bloodied. McCann fired a spinning back elbow in the final thirty seconds, and tried to goad Lipski into a firefight, pointing to the canvas. They traded to the bell, with McCann getting the nod on the scorecards.
Molly McCann def. Ariane Lipski by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
