British UFC fave Molly McCann will make the move down to 115 pounds for her next octagon appearance.
Promotion officials announced on Wednesday that McCann (13-6) will face Diana Belbita in a women’s strawweight fight on February 3, 2024.
No location, venue, or broadcast plan has been announced for that date, although it is expected to be a Fight Night event.
McCann, from Liverpool, England, had a brilliant first half to 2022, using a pair of dazzling spinning back elbows to finish opponents Luana Carolina and Hannah Goldy. Both victories came at home in England, at the o2 Arena in London. “Meatball” went on to lose her next two fights, however, which appears to have prompted the move down in weight.
A former Cage Warriors flyweight champion, Molly McCann has never fought at strawweight, and missed weight for her UFC debut in 2018, in a flyweight fight opposite Gillian Robertson.
A Romanian living and training in Canada, Diana Belbita has been trading wins and losses over her last four fights. After picking up a dominant unanimous decision win over Brazil’s Maria Oliveira at UFC 289 in Vancouver, Belbita dropped a decision against former women’s strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz in October.
The UFC’s Feb. 3 Fight Night card is expected to be headlined by Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov in a middleweight fight. The following match-ups have been reported for the event thus far:
- Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov
- William Gomis vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Thomas Petersen vs Jamal Pogues
- Julija Stoliarenko vs. Luana Carolina
- Natália Silva vs. Viviane Araújo
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Aliaskhab Khizriev
- Themba Gorimbo vs. Kiefer Crosbie
- Lee Jeong-young vs. Blake Bilder
- Marquel Mederos vs. Landon Quiñones
- Gilbert Urbina vs. Charles Radtke
- Diana Belbiţă vs. Molly McCann
