Manchester — “Meatball” Molly McCann will look to make it two wins in a row in Manchester this Saturday, taking on Bruna Brasil at UFC 304.
It’s the Paddy and Molly show once again, another card shared by the close friends, though McCann finds herself in very different circumstances than Paddy “the Baddy,” trying to put back-to-back losses suffered in late 2022/2023 behind her.
One of those losses came against current contender Erin Blanchfield, and McCann admits her head was not in the right place in advance of that fight.
“My mental well being was so damaged just before I fought Erin Blanchfield. It was like, so much to take in, just that extreme fame,” McCann recalled. Prior to running into Blanchfield, McCann had won three straight post-fight bonuses in three victories, and was subject to a massive amount of media exposure as the UFC returned to the U.K. with the coronavirus pandemic waning.
“I went through a bit of therapy to try to work through that kind of thing, and I realized what the triggers are if you’re gonna start going that way again. I just know myself more to be like, if I’m starting to feel like that, reacting this way, take yourself out of that situation. And not give so much to every. Especially something like this, this whole week, I’m very calm, relaxed, and saving the magic for Saturday, or Sunday morning.”
Perhaps her focus is a sign of the work she’s put in on her mental game. Asked about the state of the flyweight division, her ranking, and the title picture, McCann said simply that “I’m not looking past Bruna Brasil.”
And while her last three victories have come in fights that ended inside the distance, McCann hasn’t fallen in love with knocking people out. Even with her patented spinning elbow.
“I’m not craving a finish. What’s going to come is going to come, and I think that was the difference. I’m lucky that my last three wins have all come by a finish. I feel as if when something kind of clicks, it clicks. I used to have the chase the finish at the higher weight, because they were too big, so I would have to engage and force the interaction because I was too small.”
The move down to flyweight a few years back changed that. “Being at this weight, even though I’m still f*cking smaller than everyone, it’s not like a ten inch difference, it’s like three or four inches, which feels like it’s the same range for me. So I can take my time, if I’m taken down now. I’m the same size as they are.”
Watch the full UFC 304 media day appearance by Molly McCann above.
